The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Spirit Awards heap noms on ‘Eighth Grade,’ ‘First Reformed’
NEW YORK — The 34th Film Independent Spirit Awards showered nominations on Bo Burnham’s coming-of-age tale “Eighth Grade,” Lynne Ramsay’s existentialist thriller “You Were Never Really Here” and Paul Schrader’s religious drama “First Reformed” in nominees announced Friday .
Each scored four nods including best picture. Also nominated for best picture: Barry Jenkins’ James Baldwin adaptation “If Beale Street Could Talk” and Debra Granik’s father-daughter tale “Leave No Trace.”
Gemma Chan and Molly Shannon announced the nominations, which were streamed online, in a press conference from the W Hotel in Hollywood on Friday.
The leading nominee was a directorial debut that has collected all of $66,000 at the box office: Jeremiah Zagar’s “We the Animals.” The film, a lushly poetic story of three biracial brothers, received a leading five nominations including best first feature and the “someone to watch” award.
Doled out the day before the Academy Awards, the Spirits honor independent film, selecting from nominees with budgets under $20 million, ike Tamara Jenkins’ “Private Life” (three nods, including best director and best screenplay for Jenkins), Paul Dano’s directorial debut “Wildlife” (three nods, including best actress for Carey Mulligan) and Jennifer Fox’s childhood sexual abuse chronicle “The Tale” (three nods, including best first feature) to find attention.
Selection committees went especially for “Eighth Grade,” including a best actress nomination for its 15-year-old star, Elsie Fisher, and a supporting actor nom for her fictional father, Josh Hamilton. Joaquin Phoenix, the unhinged hit-man of “You Were Never Really Here,” was nominated for best actor, along with John Chu (“Searching”), Daveed Diggs (“Blindspotting”), Christian Malheiros (“Socrates”) and Ethan Hawke of “First Reformed.”
Alongside Mulligan and Fisher, the nominees for best actress were: Glenn Close (”The Wife”), Toni Collette (“Hereditary”), Regina Hall (”Support the Girls”) and Helena Howard (“Madeline’s Madeline”).
The Spirits’ Robert Altman Award, an ensemble prize given to a film’s director, cast and casting director, will go to Luca Guadagnino’s horror remake “Suspiria.” The Spirits will also, for a second time, give the Bonnie Award (and a $50,000 grant) to a mid-career female director. This year’s nominees are Granik, Jenkins and Karyn Kusama (”Destroyer”).
The Spirits, presented by nonprofit arts organization Film Independent, will be broadcast live on IFC Feb. 23.