‘Get Out’ tops Oklahoma Film Critics Circle 2017 awards
It was a great year for Jordan Peele and now the writer, director and comedian can add three more awards to his mantle.
The Oklahoma Film Critics Circle, a statewide group of film critics including writers at The Oklahoman, announced its 12th annual list of awards Tuesday. The group named “Get Out” the Best Film and Best Ensemble of 2017. “Get Out’s” driving force, Peele, also was recognized for Best Director, Best First Feature and Best Original Screenplay.
“Get Out” didn’t win easily, according to a OFCC release.
The OFCC had to call for a special vote after the initial ballots revealed the Best Film results were tied between “Get Out” and “The Shape of Water.” The latter, from director Guillermo del Toro, settled for second place in the group’s Top 10, along with a Best Actress win for Sally Hawkins.
“Not only was ‘Get Out’ one of the most original movies of the year, it was also a great movie to see in the theater in a crowd,” OFCC President Jason Black said. “I don’t think many people would expect a critics group from Oklahoma to recognize a diverse movie with such a social message.”
Another surprise was “Three Billboards Outside of Ebbing, Missouri” being named the year’s Most Disappointing Film. The Frances McDormand drama has made most top 10 lists and is considered one of the favorites for a Best Picture Oscar nomination. Some members of the OFCC did not agree.
“Despite being a movie so perfectly timed for this cultural moment of male pig whistle blowing, ‘Three Billboards’ isn’t really a movie,” OFCC Secretary/Treasurer Jeff Huston said.
“It’s a premise with caricatures, ones that exist primarily as targets and proxies for vicarious liberal venting. The conflict is potent enough on its own terms; it shouldn’t require such cynical excess.
“But instead of settling in after a provocative setup, ‘Three Billboards’ just gets more preposterous as it goes. It’s not nuanced or challenging, but it thinks it is. That lack of self-awareness makes the whole endeavor increasingly obnoxious.”
OFCC Vice President Craig Sanger said 2017’s Top 10 list was incredibly strong.
“From big-budget superhero tent-poles to quiet, powerful smaller independent films, our Top 10 perfectly captures the zeitgeist of 2017,” he said.
OFCC members are Oklahoma-based movie critics writing for print, broadcast and online outlets that publish or post reviews of current film releases.
Media outlets include The
Oklahoman, Oklahoma Gazette, Tulsa World and Tulsa Voice. Other outlets include television stations KOKH FOX 25 and KWTV News 9, radio stations KJYO/I Heart Media and Cumulus Media, and the websites Flick Attack, Collider and Red Dirt Report.