Winners to be announced December 23

After experiencing a year of excellent commercial fare and challenging independent and foreign releases, The Florida Film Critics Circle presents our top nominees in 19 categories.

Leading the pack in seven categories is an examination of the heartbreaking toll of divorce, Marriage Story, which is nominated for Best Picture. Leads Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson received acting nods, as did Laura Dern in the supporting category. The entire cast is also in the running for Best Ensemble. Meanwhile, director Noah Baumbach got a nod for his screenplay and Randy Newman for Best Score. 

Coming in second place is a four-way tie between Ad Astra, 1917,  Portrait of a Lady on Fire and The Farewell with five nominations each. Martin Scorsese’s gangster epic The Irishman, however, didn’t fare as popularly, as is the trend, with only four nominations. Significantly, Scorsese fell short of receiving a nomination in directing in a rare three-person contest. The nominations for other directors were so spread out that no one could match the interest in this trio. It’s also significant to note that two women are up for the recognition against Sam Mendes for his war epic 1917: Céline Sciamma for her French-language romantic drama Portrait of a Lady on Fire and Greta Gerwig for her adaptation of Little Women.

Along with Driver, as seems to be the trend, both Taron Egerton and Joaquin Phoenix earned nominations for Best Actor for their lead performances in Rocketman and Joker, respectively. They face off against Adam Sandler in Uncut Gems, a film not yet in wide release; Antonio Banderas for his Spanish language performance in Pain and Glory; and, in a surprise, Franz Rogowski for Transit.

Charlize Theron and Renée Zellweger will compete for Best Actress against Johansson for their performances in Bombshell and Judy, respectively. Rounding out the Best Actress nominees are Elisabeth Moss for Her Smell and Midsommar’s Florence Pugh, also in the running for the Pauline Kael Breakout award for a triple threat of noteworthy performances this year that also includes Fighting With My Family and Little Women. 

For a look at other trends for the FFCC this year, see the complete list of all the nominees below. The winners will be announced on Monday, December 23rd.

The Florida Film Critics Circle is an organization of 24 writers from Florida-based print and online publications. Founded in 1996, the FFCC strives to recognize outstanding work in film, further the cause of good movies, and maintain the highest level of professionalism among film critics in Florida. Hans Morgenstern of IndieEthos.com and Miami New Times has served as chair of the organization since May 2018.

Best Picture