If “The Power of the Dog” was the clear winner, the wealth was spread equitably to many other captivating films. Most of the other titles in the Top 10 appear in other categories too. Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s immersive, moving character study about art and connection, “Drive My Car,” placed at No. 2 on the overall list and then again in second for Best Director, at No. 9 on Best Performance, for emotionally exhausted theater director Hidetoshi Nishijima, and at No. 1 for both Best International Film and Best Screenplay — the prize that it also won at the Cannes Film Festival this July. While “The Power of the Dog” appeared on 93 ballots (26 of those at No. 1), the Murakami adaptation landed on 62 (with 13 at No. 1). That these two films topped the critics survey bolsters the argument in favor of festivals’ enduring power, even amid the ongoing uncertainty of the pandemic. “The Power of the Dog” premiered at Venice in early September, and Campion won the Silver Lion for Best Director there. “Drive My Car” bowed at Cannes. Since then, they’ve taken very different paths: “The Power of the Dog” dropped December 1 on Netflix, after a two-week limited theatrical run, while “Drive My Car” opened November 24 in just two New York City theaters (Film Forum and Film at Lincoln Center). It’s since expanded to 24 locations around the country, with more to come. Other films in the Top 10 were well represented in other categories, too: the No. 3 film, “Licorice Pizza,” placed on Best Director (No. 5) for Paul Thomas Anderson, plus Alana Haim for Best Performance (No. 5), and Best Screenplay (No. 2); “The Worst Person in the World” (No. 4 on the Best Film list) ended up at No. 2 on the Best International Film list, No. 9 for Best Screenplay, and No. 3 in Best Performance for Renate Reinsve; the No. 5 film, “Memoria,” placed at No. 3 for Best Director (Apichatpong Weerasethakul), No. 7 in Best Cinematography, and No. 3 in Best International Film; and of the remaining Top 10, “Flee” also placed at No. 1 for Best Documentary, as well as No. 4 for Best International Film. A full list of the Top 50 films will be published later this week.
For the second time, this survey presented a gender-neutral Best Performance category. Benedict Cumberbatch placed first for his portrayal of a brashly unlikable, performatively macho cowboy hiding a secret in “The Power of the Dog.” Kristen Stewart’s deeply subjective inhabiting of a paranoia-rattled Princess Diana in “Spencer” came in at No. 2. It’s an intriguing development that both films feature characters who blow up conflicts in their own personal lives out of proportion, building particular worries until they’re much bigger challenges than they may objectively be. Our burnout-addled moment found an expression in them. Pivoting from explorations of peculiar headspaces in narrative features to non-fiction, the Best Documentary category proved one of the most fruitful, as it usually does. Diverse in form as well as in subject matter, these docs span from Peter Jackson’s nine-hour excavation of the Fab Four’s last meaningful collaboration in “The Beatles: Get Back” to the “drama therapy”-fueled reenactments of Robert Greene’s “Procession,” to the experimental, poetry-filled rethink of Helen Keller’s life that was John Gianvito’s “Her Socialist Smile.” You simply won’t find more boundary-breaking filmmaking this year (and in many years) than in non-fiction. The Best Documentary category also offers some of the best treats for your ears: Beyond “Get Back,” three music documentaries made the Top 10: “Summer of Soul,” “The Velvet Underground,” and “The Sparks Brothers.” 2021 was an exceptional year for filmmaking by any standard, but as always, we ended the survey by asking about the year to come. And there’s a lot to be excited about: Terence Davies’ biographical take on Siegfried Sassoon, “Benediction,” topped the Best Films Opening in 2022 list. Look for that 2021 TIFF premiere to be released by Roadside Attractions in the months ahead. This is the time of year when people have a chance to slow down and catch up on the good stuff in film, TV, and music. And on the lists below, you’ll really find a lot of the good stuff. Happy viewing.
Best Film
Netflix
Best Director
Netflix
Best Performance
Netflix
Best Documentary
Neon
Best Cinematography
KIRSTY GRIFFIN/NETFLIX
Best Screenplay
Best International Film
NEON
Best First Feature
Best Films Opening in 2022
Roadside Attractions
