Last week the Southeastern Film Critics Association -- an organization that counts our Keith Garlington, Karen Martin and me as members -- announced that Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert's "Everything Everywhere All at Once" topped its 2022 Best Film poll. Well, all right.
"I am thrilled SEFCA recognized 'Everything Everywhere All at Once' in so many categories," said SEFCA President Matt Goldberg in a news release. "As film critics, one of the best things we can do is celebrate films that push the boundaries of narrative and genre. We hope that our voice can pull in viewers who may not normally check out a film where two women with hot dog fingers figure out their relationship. As strange as the film can be, its core message of embracing the richness of our relationships in the face of nihilistic apathy will endure far beyond this year's award season."
I don't spend a lot of time arguing with polls; people think what they think, and when you have 84 voting members -- almost twice as many as we had when I was president of the organization a decade or so ago -- the consensus is likely to get mellowed out.
The films that will rank high in the poll will be those that a lot of members will vote for but not necessarily the sort of divisive films that a few people are going to absolutely love. I would argue that Kwan and Scheinert's previous film, 2016's "Swiss Army Man," was more outrageous and cutting-edge than the hugely successful "EEAAO."
But that argument is just another variation on the "I liked them before they signed to a major label" snobbery you often see in my business. Just because it's true doesn't make it less obnoxious.
It is surprising that "EEAAO," which was released relatively early in the year, did as well as it did with members who have spent the past month or so watching as many as four movies a day. (Not complaining -- this job beats running a tree saw.)
SEFCA also recognized Kwan and Scheinert for Best Director and Best Original Screenplay. Best Actress went to Michelle Yeoh for her portrayal of Evelyn Wang, and Best Supporting Actor went to Ke Huy Quan, who plays her husband Waymond Wang.
I like "EEAAO" fine, and the only reason I absolutely know I didn't vote for it in my Top 10 (which I'm saving for the year-end Year in Movies piece I always write for our Sunday Style section) is because I shared my ballot with several contributors to this section and got upbraided by Courtney Lanning, who noted its absence from my list.
It's not the first time I didn't have SEFCA's "Best Film" anywhere on my ballot. I don't feel stupid about that.
Here's the SEFCA Top 10:
1. "Everything Everywhere All at Once"
2. "The Banshees of Inisherin"
3. "The Fabelmans"
4. "Tár"
5. "Top Gun: Maverick"
6. "RRR"
7. "Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery"
8. "Women Talking"
9. "Nope"
10. "The Batman"
Only four of SEFCA's Top 10 are on my ballot. But again, it's a snapshot of aggregate opinion, worthwhile because the people who voted see a lot of movies. I don't think it's particularly insightful, but I don't expect lists like this to be insightful.
Here is SEFCA's full list of winners, followed by the choices from Karen Martin and me. Visit SEFCA on the web at SEFCA.net to learn more about its members as well as past winners. You can also follow SEFCA on Twitter at @SEFilmCritics.
Best Actor
Winner: Colin Farrell, "The Banshees of Inisherin"
Runner-up: Brendan Fraser, "The Whale"
KM: 1. Farrell 2. Adam Driver, "White Noise" 3. Adam Sandler, "Hustle"
PM: 1. Farrell 2. Brendan Fraser 3. Driver
(Farrell is widely considered the Oscar front-runner at this stage in the game.)
Best Actress
Winner: Michelle Yeoh, "Everything Everywhere All at Once"
Runner-up: Cate Blanchett, "Tár"
KM: 1. Blanchett, 2. Catherine Clinch, "The Quiet Girl" 3. Jessica Chastain, "The Good Nurse"
PM: 1. Blanchett, 2. Ana de Armas, "Blonde" 3. Clinch
(Currently Blanchett and Yeoh have respectively, the best and second-best odds to take home the Oscar.)
Best Supporting Actor:
Winner: Key Huy Quan, "Everything Everywhere All at Once"
Runner-up: Brendan Gleeson, "The Banshees of Inisherin"
KM: 1. Eddie Redmayne, "The Good Nurse" 2. Barry Keoghan, "The Banshees of Inisherin" 3. Boyd Holbrook, "Vengeance"
PM: 1. Gleeson 2. Redmayne 3. Keoghan
(Oscar handicappers see this as a fairly wide open race, with Quan, Gleeson, Keoghan, Redmayne and Brian Tyree Henry having the best chances.)
Best Supporting Actress:
Winner: Kerry Condon, "The Banshees of Inisherin"
Runner-Up: Stephanie Hsu, "Everything Everywhere All at Once"
KM: 1. Carey Mulligan, "She Said" 2. Jessie Buckley, "Women Talking" 3. Condon
PM: 1. Mulligan 2. Buckley 3. Condon
(Oddly, none of the above are currently favored to win the Academy Award in this category. Keke Palmer is widely cited as the favorite for her work in "Nope.")
Best Ensemble:
Winner: "Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery"
Runner-up: "Women Talking"
KM: 1. "White Noise" 2. "Women Talking" 3. "Glass Onion"
PM: 1. "Women Talking" 2. "The Banshees of Inisherin" 3. "Glass Onion"
Best Director
Winner: Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, "Everything Everywhere All at Once"
Runner-up: Steven Spielberg, "The Fabelmans"
KM: 1. Sarah Polley, "Women Talking" 2. Martin McDonagh, "The Banshees of Inisherin" 3. Maria Shrader, "She Said"
PM: 1. Todd Fields, "Tár" 2. Martin McDonagh 3. Polley
(The Oscar race is allegedly wide open, though Spielberg is the favorite in some quarters. )
Best Original Screenplay
Winner: Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, "Everything Everywhere All at Once"
Runner-up: Martin McDonagh, "The Banshees of Inisherin"
KM: 1. Kwan and Scheinert 2. McDonagh 3. Charlotte Wells, "Aftersun"
PM: 1. McDonagh 2. Wells 3. Kwan and Scheinert
Best Adapted Screenplay
Winner: Sarah Polley, "Women Talking"
Runner-up: Rian Johnson, "Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery"
KM: 1. Polley 2. Colm Bairead,"The Quiet Girl" 3. Samuel D. Hunter, "The Whale"
Best Documentary
Winner: "Fire of Love"
Runner-up: "Good Night Oppy"
KM: 1."The 'Vous" 2. "Bad Axe " 3. "Fire of Love"
PM: 1. "The 'Vous" 2. "Bad Axe" 3."Turn Every Page – The Adventures of Robert Caro and Robert Gottlieb"
Best Foreign-Language Film
Winner: "RRR"
Runner-up: "Decision to Leave"
KM: 1. "Eo" 2. "Decision to Leave" 3. "Corsage"
PM: 1. "The Quiet Girl" 2. "All Quiet on the Western Front' 3. "Decision to Leave"
Best Animated Film
Winner: "Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio"
Runner-up: "Marcel the Shell with Shoes On"
KM: 1. "Wendell & Wild" 2. "Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio" 3. "The Bad Guys"
PM: 1. "Guillermo Del Toro's Pinocchio" 2. "Marcel the Shell With Shoes On" 3. "Turning Red"
Best Cinematography
Winner: Claudio Miranda, "Top Gun: Maverick"
Runner-up: Janusz Kaminski, "The Fabelmans"
KM: 1. Darius Khondji, "Bardo" 2. Lol Crawley, "White Noise" 3. Florian Hoffmeister, "Tár"
PM: 1. Khondji, "Bardo" 2. Roger Deakins, "Empire of Light" 3. Hoffmeister
Best Score
Winner: Michael Giacchino, "The Batman"
Runner-up: John Williams, "The Fabelmans"
KM: 1. Hildur Guonadottir, "Women Talking" 2. Danny Elfman, "White Noise" 3. Guonadottir, "Tár"
PM: 1. Guonadottir, "Tár" 2. Guonadottir, "Women Talking" 3. Elfman, "White Noise"
(According to Variety, Guonadottir is one of the favorites to win the Oscar for her "Women Talking" score, and has an outside shot at nabbing a historic second nomination for "Tár.")
The Gene Wyatt Award
(film that best evokes the spirit of the South)
Winner: "Elvis"
Runner-up: "Till"
KM: 1. "The 'Vous" 2. "Vengeance" 3. No vote
PM: 1. "The 'Vous" 2. "Vengeance" 3. "New West"
(While the win for "Elvis" was inevitable, and the movie is entertaining, it is disappointing that SEFCA would elect to give their signature award to a film that is neither very much about the historic Elvis or the South. That's probably a function of the expanding membership -- I can't imagine the group will ever again honor a small indie film like Jeff Nichols' "Shotgun Stories" or Scott Teems' "That Evening Sun." )