2017 Independent Spirit Award Nominees

Congratulations to this year's Independent Spirit Award nominees!

Best Feature
“Call Me By Your Name”
“The Florida Project”
“Get Out”
“Lady Bird”
“The Rider”

Best Female Lead
Salma Hayek, “Beatriz at Dinner”
Frances McDormand, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”
Margot Robbie, “I, Tonya”
Saiorse Ronan, “Lady Bird”
Shinobu Terajima, “Oh Lucy”
Regina Williams, “Life And Nothing”

Best Male Lead
Timothee Chalamet, “Call Me By Your Name”
Harris Dickinson, “Beach Rats”
James Franco, “The Disaster Artist”
Daniel Kaluuya, “Get Out”
Robert Pattinson, “Good Time”

Best Supporting Female
Holly Hunter, “The Big Sick”
Allison Janney, “I, Tonya”
Laurie Metcalf, “Lady Bird”
Lois Smith, “Marjorie Prime”
Taliah Lennice Webster, “Good Time”

Best Supporting Male
Namdi Asomugha, “Crown Heights”
Armie Hammer, “Call Me By Your Name”
Barry Keoghan, “The Killing of a Sacred Deer”
Sam Rockwell, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”
Bennie Safdie, “Good Time”

Best Director
Jonas Carpignano, “A Ciambra”
Luca Gudagnino, “Call Me By Your Name”
Jordan Peele, “Get Out”
Benny and Josh Safdie, “Good Time:
Chloé Zhao, “The Rider”

Best Screenplay
“Lady Bird”
“The Lovers”
“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”
“Get Out”
“Beatriz at Dinner”

Best First Feature
“Columbus”
“Ingrid Goes West”
"Manahse”
“Oh Lucy”
“Patti Cake$”

Best First Screenplay
“Donald Cried”
“The Big Sick”
“Woman Who Kill”
“Columbus”
“Ingrid Goes West”

Best Cinematography
“The Killing of a Sacred Deer”
“Columbus”
“Beach Rats”
“Call Me By Your Name”
“The Rider

Best Film Editing
“Good Time”
“Call Me By Your Name”
“The Rider”
“Get Out”
“I, Tonya”

Review: "Wonder"

If only Jacob Tremblay could narrate every film!

Tremblay, who was inexplicably robbed of an Oscar nomination (I would perhaps even argue the win) for Room two years back, again proves himself one of our finest child actors with his latest effort, director Stephen Chbosky's film adaptation of Wonder.

Based on R.J. Palacio's beloved 2012 novel, Wonder tells the story of August "Auggie" Pullman (Tremblay), a young boy with Treacher Collins syndrome, the genetic disorder characterized by facial deformities. Having to date been homeschooled by his mom (Julia Roberts), Auggie, with some initial anxiety and reluctance, makes the leap into attending an elementary school for the first time.

Auggie encounters no shortage of ignorance and cruelty from some of his classmates - fueled, as we come to find, by some parents who deserve a special place in hell - but, over time, comes across the right friendly faces and teaches even some of the nastier forces that he's really just an ordinary (and awesome) kid.

Auggie's story alone is an absorbing one but Wonder is in fact a great ensemble piece, shining a spotlight on his adoring parents (Owen Wilson portrays the father); the older sister (Izabela Vidovic) who's been there every step of the way through her brother's journeys in and out of hospitals and herself is struggling socially in school; and Auggie's friend Jack Will (Noah Jupe), torn between the new pal he loves and peer pressure to poke fun at him. Even Auggie's sister's estranged friend has her own little sequence!

Wonder isn't quite as ambitious a picture as say, this year's Wonderstruck, but it's still awfully irresistible, with Tremblay charming, funny and also heartbreaking as can be in the lead role. Roberts and Wilson are in warm, wonderful form and Vidovic is an absolute revelation as Auggie's sister, who finds surprising fulfillment through her school's drama group. Watch out for a terrific turn by Mandy Patinkin too, who plays the school principal.

Chbosky's The Perks of a Wallflower left me rather cold a few years back, so, despite my affection for Tremblay, I did not have terribly high expectations for this. Well, those modest expectations were exceeded by leaps and bounds and I would encourage all to check out this marvelous (and surprisingly not manipulative/saccharine) film.

A-

Review: "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri"

Dear Frances McDormand,

I know you're not terribly enamored with the whole awards season game but might be time to start working on that Oscar speech.

McDormand, per usual, is absolutely spectacular in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, the latest effort from that riveting filmmaker and playwright Martin McDonagh. This is hardly a one-woman tour de force, however - McDormand, while incredible, is matched toe-to-toe by a remarkable ensemble cast, with several talents operating at the very tops of their game.

In the film, Woody Harrelson is the genial Police Chief William Willoughby, a figure seemingly adored by just about everyone in town. Well, that is, with the exception of Mildred Hayes (McDormand), whose teenage daughter was violently raped and murdered. Seven months since her death, Hayes is perturbed as ever at Willoughby for his failure to make progress in the investigation. So, she releases her exasperation via three billboards outside of town, targeting the chief for this perceived inaction.

Hayes' actions, no surprise, don't sit terribly well with all town residents, including Willoughby's second-in-command, Officer Jason Dixon (Sam Rockwell), a racist, buffoonish loose cannon who may or may not have some sense of decency tucked away inside. Her son Robbie (Lucas Hedges, in yet another terrific supporting turn) and ex-husband Charlie (John Hawkes), still devastated over their loss, are also none too pleased with the attention.

To delve any further into the plot would, I think, be unfair to my readers and to the picture, which includes some real jaw-droppers, both in dialogue and the events that transpire. I can guarantee, however, you will not be bored.

McDonagh packs a ton into his picture, touching upon issues of police brutality and incompetence, sexual assault, racism and more, while simultaneously operating as a family drama (McDormand even gets a Mary Tyler Moore in Ordinary People-like scene where she reflects on the past from her deceased child's bedroom) and pitch black comedy - and yet, even with all of these moving parts, Three Billboards is a remarkably focused and absorbing endeavor.

McDormand fans are in for a treat with her delicious turn here but Harrelson is also in top form and Rockwell is a legit revelation, adding layers to a character you think you've seen countless times before, until fate turns his Officer Dixon upside down. Peter Dinklage adds additional comic relief as a used car salesman with a crush on Hayes and then there's Sandy Martin, both a hoot and kind of terrifying as Dixon's colorful mama.

Three Billboards meets and perhaps even exceeds the sky-high expectations you'd have for a film with this supreme a cast and filmmaker.

A

Review: "The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected)"

If, years ago, you'd suggested to me the likes of Adam Sandler and Ben Stiller could handily outshine Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson in the same picture...well, I would've been far less than convinced.

Alas, that is very much the case in The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected), the surprisingly pale latest film from writer/director Noah Baumbach.

In the film, Sandler and Stiller portray siblings Danny and Matthew who, alongside sister Jean (Elizabeth Marvel), are reconnected in advance of their sculptor father Harold (Dustin Hoffman)'s career retrospective on his work. Danny has inherited some of his dad's artistic talent but is poor. Matthew may not have an inventive bone in his body but is a successful and wealthy financial planner. Both are unhappy, as is the timid Jean, and Harold isn't much more jovial, especially after witnessing the grand success of an old friend (Judd Hirsch) who recently had his own art show. No surprise, a tragedy strikes that brings long-isolated forces together.

The Meyerowitz Stories isn't without its pleasures. Both Sandler and Stiller are really quite wonderful, the former in particular shining after all too many years attaching himself to cinematic dreck. Marvel is strong too, even if Jean feels terribly underwritten, and Candice Bergen shows up for a boffo cameo as Harold's third wife (and Matthew's mom) who regrets paying scant attention to Danny and Jean as they grew up.

The picture has been sold as a sort of cross between Woody Allen and Wes Anderson but Baumbach's proceedings hardly match the sharpness of either of those two filmmakers' work, even third-tier Allen or Anderson. The film, despite some great acting, is curiously uninvolving for the most part and I wasn't too fond of Hoffman's dreary, sad sack portrayal of Harold, nor Emma Thompson's turn as the sculptor's latest wife, a one-note hippie caricature that plays more like a SNL character than actual human being.

Fans of Sandler and Stiller ought to check this out but keep those expectations modest.

B-

Review: "Lady Bird"

Saoirse Ronan (who should've won the Oscar for Brooklyn), Laurie Metcalf (one of the most devastatingly talented actors to ever grace the small screen), Tracy Letts (among this century's finest playwrights and a fierce actor to boot), Lucas Hedges (brilliant last year in Manchester By the Sea), Stephen Henderson (superb in last year's Fences), Timothee Chalamet (about to embark on an awards season run with Call Me By Your Name) and Lois Smith (among our most treasured character actors), among other geniuses, in a film directed by that sublime up-and-comer Greta Gerwig?

How could such a production prove anything less than absolute perfection?

Lady Bird does not disappoint. It is among the year's very best and most insightful pictures. Gerwig writes and directs on a sky-high level that is matched in every moment by a game cast ready to bask in the rich material they've been given.

Ronan is the deliciously droll and strong-willed Christine "Lady Bird" McPherson, a teenager itching to graduate from her Catholic high school in Sacramento and ideally settle down somewhere in the northeast. She has a stormy relationship with her mom Marion (Metcalf), a woman just as candid as her daughter and supremely stressed from work - pressure that only gets worse when family patriarch Larry (Letts) loses his job. Marion is not keen at all on the idea of Lady Bird making such a cross country move. Adding additional turbulence to Lady Bird's life are a pair of thorny romantic escapades and a suddenly strained relationship with her best friend (the fabulous Beanie Feldstein).

Lady Bird never strikes a false note, nor does it put any of its richly talented actors to waste. Ronan and Metcalf are in prime form, their relationship the heart and soul of the picture. With the spotlight shone on them, Gerwig ends the film on an immensely moving and perceptive note. But there is so much more to cherish in this picture too, including yet another heartbreaking performance from Hedges, that uproarious scene-stealer Feldstein and also the sweet rapport between Lady Bird and her father.

Members of the Academy, I realize the category of Best Lead Actress is looking to be something of a zoo this awards season. If, however, you opt not to nominate Ronan, one of today's finest young talents, operating at the very top of her game here, I am prepared to throw a hissy fit that you'll be able to hear all the way from Boston. K?

A