LA Film Critics Awards: ‘Drive My Car’ Wins Best Picture, ‘Power of the Dog’ Runner-Up
The voting for the Los Angeles Film Critics Association’s (LAFCA) best films and best performances of 2021 took place virtually on Saturday. The awards were announced via the group’s Twitter account. throughout the day. The top prizes went to Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s “Drive My Car” for Best Picture, plus Best Director, Best Actor Simon Rex (“Red Rocket”), and Best Actress Penelope Cruz (“Parallel Mothers”). See the full list below.
Other top winners of the awards included Jane Campion’s “The Power of the Dog,” which took runner-up in several categories, as well as the music documentary, “Summer of Soul.”
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Last year’s top prize for Best Picture went to Steve McQueen’s omnibus film “Small Axe,” with eventual Best Picture Oscar winner “Nomadland” as the runner-up. Carey Mulligan won Best Actress for “Promising Young Woman,” Chadwick Boseman won Best Actor for “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” Youh-jung Youn won Best Supporting Actress for “Minari,” and Glynn Turman won Best Supporting Actor for “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.”
As previously announced, Mel Brooks received the group’s life achievement award. “Mel Brooks is a national treasure and a comedy filmmaking legend,” said LAFCA president Claudia Puig back when the honor was announced. “Most of our members could probably quote whole swathes of his screenplays.” She added, “He not only has made us laugh uproariously, he has broken comic barriers and paved the way for and influenced generations of filmmakers after him.”
Winners and runner-ups below.
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Winner: “The Power of the Dog,” Ari Wegner
Runner-Up: “Dune,” Greig Fraser
BEST SCORE/MUSIC
Winner: “Parallel Mothers,” Alberto Iglesias
Runner-Up: “The Power of the Dog” and “Spencer,” Jonny Greenwood
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Winner: Ariana DeBose, “West Side Story”
Runner-Up: Aunjanue Ellis, “King Richard”
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
Winner: “Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar,” Steve Saklad
Runner-Up: “Nightmare Alley,” Tamara Deverell
BEST EDITING
Winner: “Summer of Soul,” Joshua L. Pearson
Runner-Up: “Licorice Pizza,” Andy Jurgensen
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Winner: (tie) Vincent Lindon, “Titane” and Kodi Smit-McPhee, “The Power of the Dog”
BEST ANIMATION
Winner: “Flee”
Runner-Up: “Belle”
DOUGLAS EDWARDS EXPERIMENTAL FILM PRIZE
“The Works and Days (Of Tayoko Shiojiri in the Shiotani Basin)”
BEST SCREENPLAY
Winner: “Drive My Car,” Ryusuke Hamaguchi and Takamasa Oe
Runner-Up: “Licorice Pizza,” Paul Thomas Anderson
BEST DOCUMENTARY
Winner: “Summer of Soul”
Runner-Up: “Procession”
BEST ACTRESS
Winner: Penelope Cruz, “Parallel Mothers”
Runner-Up: Renate Reinsve, “The Worst Person in the World”
BEST ACTOR
Winner: Simon Rex, “Red Rocket”
Runner-Up: Benedict Cumberbatch, “The Power of the Dog”
BEST DIRECTOR
Winner: Jane Campion, “The Power of the Dog”
Runner-Up: Ryusuke Hamaguchi, “Drive My Car”
NEW GENERATION
(tie) Shatara Michelle Ford, “Test Pattern,” and Tatiana Huezo, “Prayers for the Stolen”
BEST FOREIGN-LANGUAGE FILM
Winner: “Petite Maman”
Runner-Up: “Quo Vadis, Aida?”
BEST PICTURE
Winner: “Drive My Car”
Runner-Up: “The Power of the Dog”
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