My picks for the 27th Independent Spirit Awards
Best Feature
50/50
The Artist
Beginners
The Descendants
Drive
Take Shelter (Extremely close 2nd)
Best Director
Michel Hazanavicius – The Artist
Mike Mills – Beginners
Jeff Nichols – Take Shelter
Alexander Payne – The Descendants
Nicolas Winding Refn – Drive
Best First Film
Another Earth (Close 2nd)
In The Family
Margin Call
Martha Marcy May Marlene
Natural Selection
Best Screenplay
Mike Mills – Beginners
Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon & Jim Rash – The Descendants
Joseph Cedar – Footnote
Michel Hazanavicius – The Artist
Tom McCarthy – Win Win
Best First Screenplay
Mike Cahill & Brit Marling – Another Earth
Patrick deWitt – Terri
Phil Johnston – Cedar Rapids
Will Reiser – 50/50
J.C. Chandor – Margin Call (Extremely Close 2nd)
Best Female Lead
Lauren Ambrose – Think of Me
Rachael Harris – Natural Selection
Adepero Oduye – Pariah
Elizabeth Olsen – Martha Marcy May Marlene
Michelle Williams – My Week with Marilyn
Best Male Lead
Demián Bichir – A Better Life
Jean Dujardin – The Artist
Ryan Gosling – Drive
Woody Harrelson – Rampart
Michael Shannon – Take Shelter
Best Supporting Female
Jessica Chastain – Take Shelter
Anjelica Huston – 50/50
Janet McTeer – Albert Nobbs
Harmony Santana – Gun Hill Road
Shailene Woodley – The Descendants
Best Supporting Male
Albert Brooks – Drive
John Hawkes – Martha Marcy May Marlene
Christopher Plummer – Beginners
John C. Reilly – Cedar Rapids
Corey Stoll – Midnight in Paris
Best Cinematography
The Artist
Bellflower
The Dynamiter
Midnight in Paris
The Off Hours
These are the only ones I felt comfortable picking a favorite in because I’ve seen all the films except Natural Selection, The Off Hours, Gun Hill Road and In The Family. A Separation should easily win the Best Foreign Film award, even though I haven’t seen The Kid With A Bike, Shame or Tyrannosaur.
