2019 Independent Spirit Award Nominations Analysis

This morning, the 2019 Independent Spirit Award nominations were announced, and there were plenty of surprises. The ceremony has historically been a fairly good prognosticator of the Oscar races, and this could be our first glimpse into what the major races look like. What fared well and what didn’t?

Best Screenplay

• Richard Glatzer, Rebecca Lenkiewicz & Wash Westmoreland, Colette
• Nicole Holofcener & Jeff Whitty, Can You Ever Forgive Me?
• Tamara Jenkins, Private Life
• Boots Riley, Sorry to Bother You
• Paul Schrader, First Reformed

I’m surprised to see Sorry to Bother You here (and in other categories) as I wasn’t fond of the film myself, but there’s no denying Boots Riley’s unique creative vision so I’m cool with his inclusion. I’m happy to see Tamara Jenkins’ Private Life and Paul Schrader’s First Reformed here, alongside a couple more traditional films that I didn’t bother seeing. I would have loved to see Paul Dano and Zoe Kazan’s Wildlife here, as well as a handful of other scripts (which may or may not be qualified as indie films). I would be happy with either Jenkins or Schrader taking home the award, and I also hope Schrader earns his first Oscar nom for his film as well. I mean c’mon, he deserved one forty years ago for Taxi Driver.

Best First Screenplay

• Bo Burnham, Eighth Grade
• Christina Chloe, Nancy
• Cory Finley, Thoroughbreds
• Jennifer Fox, The Tale
• Quinn Shephard & Laurie Shephard, Blame

I admittedly have only seen two of these films, but boy am I happy to see some Bo Burnham love. Eighth Grade remains one of my favorites of the year so far and I would be thrilled for him to earn acclaim here and elsewhere during awards season. Cory Finley’s Thoroughbreds was very nearly an excellent film that kinda fell apart for me in the second half, but I’m still glad to see him get some recognition and perhaps drive him forward to produce more strong work.

Best International Film

• Burning (South Korea)
• The Favourite (United Kingdom)
• Happy as Lazarro (Italy)
• Roma (Mexico)
• Shoplifters (Japan)

The biggest surprise of the nominations is that The Favourite and Roma were only acknowledged in this category, I guess because of some rules loopholes about what qualifies as an American independent production. Those two films are poised to be frontrunners at the Oscars, so this is an example of the FISA’s not being totally indicative of awards races. Still, they are the two obvious leaders here, though I’ve also heard good things about Burning and Shoplifters (which won the Palm d’Or at this year’s Cannes). I’ll try to check them out if I can before awards season starts.

Best Supporting Actress

• Kayli Carter, Private Life
• Tyne Daly, A Bread Factory
• Regina King, If Beale Street Could Talk
• Thomasin McKenzie, Leave No Trace
• J. Smith-Cameron, Nancy

If I had to guess, this is Thomasin McKenzie’s category to lose. She was stunning in Leave No Trace, proving that Debra Granik has a knack for discovering young actresses and turning them into stars. Kayli Carter was also great in Private Life, holding her own with seasoned veterans. I have not seen the other films, but I’ll definitely be checking out Barry Jenkins’ If Beale Street Could Talk when it hits theaters later this month.

Best Supporting Actor

• Raúl Castillo, We the Animals 
• Adam Driver, BlacKkKlansman
• Richard E. Grant, Can You Ever Forgive Me?
• Josh Hamilton, Eighth Grade
• John David Washington, Monsters and Men  

More love for Eighth Grade! I thought that Josh Hamilton’s character was the weakest link of the film, but his performance was definitely strong. This is also our first glimpse at We the Animals, which was the big winner of the festival with five nominations, indicating that a lot of industry insiders really loved that film. I’m also amused that Adam Driver and John David Washington (costars of BlacKkKlansman) both got nominations, even if Washington’s was for a different movie.

Best Male Lead

• John Cho, Searching
• Daveed Diggs, Blindspotting
• Ethan Hawke, First Reformed 
• Christian Malheiros, Socrates
• Joaquin Phoenix, You Were Never Really Here

   

Some BIG surprises here with John Cho earning acclaim for Searching and Daveed Diggs sneaking in for the riotous Blindspotting. I do think Searching was snubbed for Editing but I’m happy to see it still talked about nonetheless. I’m also thrilled that Joaquin Phoenix made it for his stellar performance in You Were Never Really Here, even though he’ll never earn an Oscar nomination in a million years. Ethan Hawke is the clear frontrunner for First Reformed, for which it sounds like A24 is putting together a big Oscars campaign, and it would be a well-deserved win for him.

Best Female Lead

• Glenn Close, The Wife
• Toni Collette, Hereditary 
• Elsie Fisher, Eighth Grade
• Regina Hall, Support the Girls
• Helena Howard, Madeline’s Madeline 
• Carey Mulligan, Wildlife  

2018 is one of the toughest Best Actress years in recent memory, and surely when it comes Oscar time we’ll only get the cream of the crop. These nominations reflect that as they had to open it up to six nominees to make room to honor everything they wanted to. Still, I’m super happy that Toni Collette made it in, as her role in Hereditary remains my favorite performance of the entire year. Elsie Fisher is also rightfully here for Eighth Grade, as well as Carey Mulligan who shone in the elegaic Wildlife. I have yet to see The Wife, but I hear Glenn Close could be the favorite to win it all this season, so we’ll have to wait and see.

Best Director

• Debra Granik, Leave No Trace 
• Barry Jenkins, If Beale Street Could Talk 
• Tamara Jenkins, Private Life
• Lynne Ramsay, You Were Never Really Here
• Paul Schrader, First Reformed

In a festival first, three women are nominated for directing this year, and all three are well-deserved in my opinion. To this day I believe Greta Gerwig got sympathy votes for last year’s Lady Bird and edged out more deserving nominees like Luca Guadagnino and Martin McDonagh, but this year I would be happy if any of these ladies earned Oscar acclaim for their work. More love for Paul Schrader is always welcome, and I’m starting to get more and more excited for Barry Jenkins’ new film since Moonlight is one of my favorites of the entire decade.

 

Best First Feature

• Hereditary 
• Sorry to Bother You
• The Tale
• We the Animals
• Wildlife 

I’m a little iffy on the parameters of this category. Like, where the hell is Bo Burnham?! This feels a bit like a leftovers category to honor films they didn’t have room for elsewhere. Still a strong bunch of films, and if I had to pick, I’d hope Paul Dano takes it home for the beautiful Wildlife.

Best Feature

• Eighth Grade
• First Reformed
• If Beale Street Could Talk
• Leave No Trace
• You Were Never Really Here

See, how can Eighth Grade be here and not also in Best First Feature? And where are Roma and The Favourite? But whatever. Y’all know who I’m rooting for here, unless Beale Street really blows me away, and I’d love to see Bo Burnham up on the podium many times over the next couple of months.

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Conclusion

What surprised you from the nominations? What are you hoping to see at the Golden Globes and Oscars early next year? How close do you think these nominations will be to the bigger awards shows of the season?

-Austin Daniel