‘Anora,’ ‘The Brutalist’ lead 2024 picks for Southeastern film critics
Mikey Madison (left) as Ani and Mark Eydelshteyn as Ivan., in the film "Anora." (Courtesy Neon.)
A Russian oligarch’s son finds a bride at a Manhattan “gentlemen’s club,” and a Hungarian architect fleeing World War II-era Europe strives to re-start his career in the U.S.
These culture-clash American stories animate “Anora” and “The Brutalist,” named the year’s two best films this week by the Southeastern Film Critics Association (SEFCA).
“Anora,” which had a brief theatrical Memphis run this fall, also got Best Actress, for titular star Mikey Madison, and Best Original Screenplay for writer-director Sean Baker.
“The Brutalist,” a nearly four-hour widescreen epic from previously little-known filmmaker Brady Corbet, hasn’t yet set a Memphis run date but it should get a wider release in the run-up to the Academy Awards, where, like “Anora,” it’s expected to figure prominently.
“The Brutalist” also piled up first-place notices for Best Actor (Adrien Brody), Best Supporting Actor (Guy Pearce) and Best Director (Corbet).
Among movies that made SEFCA’s Top 10, “Conclave” and “Wicked” are currently showing in Memphis. The ambitious Southern period piece, “Nickel Boys,” and the Bob Dylan biopic, “A Complete Unknown,” are expected to open later this month. “Sing Sing,” a based-on-a-true-story prison drama, is expected to get a theatrical re-release early next year.
SEFCA includes 89 members across nine Southeastern states.
As a SEFCA voter, I’ll share my own best-of-the-year list in the near future.
Full Southeastern Film Critics Association results
Top 10 films:
1. “Anora”
2. “The Brutalist”
3. “Conclave”
4. “Dune: Part 2”
5. “Challengers”
6. “Nickel Boys”
7. “Sing Sing”
8. “Wicked”
9. “The Substance”
10. “A Complete Unknown”
Best Actor:
Adrien Brody, “The Brutalist”
Runner-Up: Colman Domingo, “Sing Sing”
Best Actress:
Mikey Madison, “Anora”
Runner-Up: Demi Moore, “The Substance”
Best Supporting Actor:
Guy Pearce, “The Brutalist”
Runner-Up: Kieran Culkin, “A Real Pain”
Best Supporting Actress:
Ariana Grande, “Wicked”
Runner-Up: Zoe Saldana, “Emilia Perez”
Best Ensemble:
“Conclave”
Runner-Up: “Sing Sing”
Best Director:
Brady Corbet, “The Brutalist”
Runner-Up: Sean Baker, “Anora”
Best Original Screenplay:
Sean Baker, “Anora”
Runner-Up: Brady Corbet and Mona Fastvold, “The Brutalist”
Best Adapted Screenplay:
Peter Straughan, “Conclave”
Runner-Up: RaMell Ross and Joslyn Barnes, “Nickel Boys”
Best Documentary:
“Sugarcane”
Runner-Up: “Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story”
Best Animated Film:
“The Wild Robot”
Runner-Up: “Flow”
Best Foreign Language Film:
“Emilia Perez”
Runner-Up: “The Seed of the Sacred Fig”
Best Cinematography:
Grieg Fraser, “Dune Part 2”
Runner-Up: Jarin Blaschke, “Nosferatu”
Best Score:
Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, “Challengers”
Runner-Up: Daniel Blumberg, “The Brutalist”
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Chris Herrington
Chris Herrington has covered the Memphis Grizzlies, in one way or another, since the franchise’s second season in Memphis, while also writing about music, movies, food and civic life. As far as he knows, he’s the only member of the Professional Basketball Writers Association who is also a member of a film critics group and has also voted in national music critic polls for Rolling Stone and the Village Voice (RIP). He and his wife have two kids and, for reasons that sometimes elude him, three dogs.
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