The Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association voted the Western drama The Power of the Dog as the Best Film of 2021, according to the results of its 28th annual critics’ poll. The film also won the award for Best Actor for Benedict Cumberbatch, Best Supporting Actor for Kodi Smit-McPhee, along with Best Director and Best Screenplay for Jane Campion.
The Power of the Dog took Best Picture honors along with three other awards, leading a wide-ranging list of winners for the 2021 Utah Film Critics Association awards. The film was also recognized for Best Achievement in Directing by Jane Campion, Best Male Supporting Performance for Kodi Smit-McPhee, and Best Score for Jonny Greenwood.
The St. Louis Film Critics Association awarded Paul Thomas Anderson’s Licorice Pizza the honor of Best Film of 2021 along with Best Comedy Film. The Power of the Dog snagged the most honors, winning Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay for Jane Campion; Best Supporting Actor for Kodi Smit-McPhee; and Best Cinematography.
Rebecca Hall’s Passing was awarded the honor of Best Movie About Women at the Women Film Critics Circle (WFCC), 2021 awards, along with Best Screen Couple for Ruth Negga and Tessa Thompson. The film based on Nella Larsen’s 1929 book, Passing, stars Ruth Negga and Tessa Thompson as two light-skinned Black women, one of whom passes for white.
The Phoenix Critics Circle awarded their top honor of Best Picture of 2021 to The Power of Dog, along with Best Director for Jane Campion, Best Actor for Benedict Cumberbatch, Best Supporting Actress for Kirsten Dunst and Best Score. Other awards went to Licorice Pizza for Best Comedy Film, Titane for Best Horror Film, Drive My Car for Best Foreign Language Film and Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) for Best Documentary.
Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s Memoria, Ryûsuke Hamaguchi’s Drive My Car, and Joanna Hogg’s The Souvenir Part II took the top spots among films released in 2021 on Film Comment’s annual end-of-year survey. Of the films that screened at festivals worldwide but have not announced stateside distribution, Claire Simon’s I Want To Talk About Duras, Ted Fendt’s Outside Noise, and Kyoshi Sugita’s Haruhara-san’s Recorder received the top rankings.
Kenneth Branagh’s Belfast took Best Picture honors, and Branagh won for Best Director and Best Screenplay, in the Phoenix Film Critic’s Society’s 2021 awards. The film also captured awards for Ciaran Hinds for Best Actor in a Supporting Role and for Jude Hill for Best Performance by a Youth. With five wins, Belfast tied with Dune for the most honored film of the year.
The Power of the Dog was named the Best Picture of 2021 by the Southeastern Film Critics Association, along with Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay for Jane Campion, Best Actor for Benedict Cumberbatch, Best Supporting Actor for Kodi Smit-McPhee and Best Supporting Actress for Kirsten Dunst. This is the second time a film directed by Jane Campion has won Best Picture and Best Director as SEFCA also recognized her film The Piano in 1993.
“Belfast” along with “West Side Story” lead this year’s film contenders for the 27th Annual Critics Choice Awards, earning eleven nominations each. In addition to Best Picture, “Belfast” racked up several acting nominations including Best Supporting Actor nods for both Jamie Dornan and Ciarán Hinds, Best Supporting Actress for Caitríona Balfe, Best Young Actor/Actress for Jude Hill, and Best Acting Ensemble, while Kenneth Branagh could take home both the Best Director and Best Original Screenplay trophies. “Belfast” also earned nominations for Haris Zambarloukos for Best Cinematography, Jim Clay and Claire Nia Richards for Best Production Design, and Úna Ní Dhonghaíle for Best Editing.
The Philadelphia Film Critics Circle named Jane Campion’s The Power of the Dog the Best Film of 2021 at its fifth annual year-end awards. The Power of the Dog received six award including Best Director and Best Script (both for Jane Campion), Best Actor (Benedict Cumberbatch), Best Supporting Actor (for Kodi Smit-McPhee) and Best Soundtrack/Score (for Johnny Greenwood.)
Kenneth Branagh’s Belfast and Jane Campion’s The Power of the Dog lead the nominations for the 79th Annual Golden Globe Awards, with seven nominations each, including Best Motion Picture – Drama and Best Director.
