The Critics Debate: Which Movie Deserves Best Picture?
Ahead of the Critics’ Choice Awards, six female critics share their choices for top film - via thecherrypicks.com
I know it’s not normal for a filmmaker to love critics, but I do. I grew up watching Siskel & Ebert and Scott Mantz, the movie man on Access Hollywood, and these critics’ opinions and interpretations of films intrigued me. Sometimes they loved a film; sometimes they hated a film. Sometimes I agreed with them; sometimes I didn’t. But I yearned to hear their thoughts and opinions, and their passion encouraged me to take the risk and do what I love, which is make movies. I didn’t grow up hearing a lot of female voices in film criticism, but with this site, I’m pushing for a change, so my daughter will.
This week in Los Angeles, we celebrated the critical voice: First, at the L.A. Online Film Critics Society Awards and L.A. Film Critics Association Awards, and this evening, we’ll do the same at the Critics’ Choice Awards. Being in the rooms at these event so far, I was of course curious to hear everyone’s thoughts on what movie deserves best picture. Particularly, what the female critics were thinking. Here, I’m sharing what five female critics told me. I hope their takes inspire you to watch these films—and see if you agree or or not. Either way, respect.
The Favourite
“To me it is the film of the year. The cinematography is great, the acting is great, the editing is great, the script is phenomenal. It’s the full package for me. The Favourite would be my favorite.” - Lauren Huff, The Hollywood Reporter, @_LaurenHuff
If Beale Street Could Talk
“I have been screaming about If Beale Street Could Talk since I saw it in Toronto. It is my favorite film ever. I saw people that look like me. I saw my mother, I saw my grandmother, I saw my aunts. I saw any woman in my family that does whatever she has to do or say to keep a family just that—a family. It showed Black love in a way that I’ve never seen on a screen ever in my life. It showed the Black love between a family, Black love between a man and a woman, Black love between a mother and a daughter, Black love between sisters. I loved it for that.” - CherryPicker Carla Renata, The Curvy Film Critic, @TheCurvyCritic
Roma or BlacKkKlansman
“I loved Roma a lot. Roma really was a movie that just washed over me in a way that I didn’t expect. If I were to pick a second film, I did love BlacKkKlansman. It’s an important movie, and I think there’s been a lot of important movies this year, and a lot of message movies. That was one of the best.” - Kit Bowen, ScreenPics, @TheMovieKit
Bohemian Rhapsody
“I absolutely loved Bohemian Rhapsody. I saw it three times, twice on the big screen and I even rented it. I absolutely loved it. It’s excellent.” - CherryPicker Staci Layne Wilson, L.A. Online Film Critics Society, @staciwilson
Roma
“Roma is so different from any other film, and it’s so personal. [Director Alfonso Cuarón] recreated his childhood home from the 1970s. He tells this really moving story, it’s a slice of humanity we don’t see. When it comes to stories from Mexico, we see drug dealers and drug lords, and we see people who are struggling who come over as immigrants. We don’t see a family in Mexico. This is a beautiful story about a family that is fracturing. It’s about the women who mothered him, not just his biological mother, but this wonderful kindly worker and how she fits in the family and how she’s also outside the family. It’s speaks volumes.” - Claudia Puig, NPR, @claudiapuig
Hereditary
“A lot of my reasons are shared right out of [Claudia’s] mouth for Hereditary. Another movie with impeccable production design that is extremely moving beyond what you might assume. It’s also a first feature with an amazing performance by Toni Collette.” - Jen Yamato, The Los Angeles Times, @jenyamato
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Love CherryPicks? Support us by clicking on the GREEN TEXT affiliate links to buy products we've hand-picked to match the content you read. (Item availability may vary--they are all very cool items, so it makes sense they may sell out...) You can also support us by renting or buying films from icons at the top of each film page using platforms like Amazon and iTunes. Happy viewing!