WOMEN FILM CRITICS CIRCLE SPECIAL PAULINE KAEL JURY AWARDS 2021

 UNIQUE, PROVOCATIVE AND STYLISHLY OPINIONATED….

 

 

'Criticism is the only thing that stands between the audience and advertising.' - Pauline Kael

BEST FEMALE ACTION HERO

Sandra Bullock, The Unforgivable

Sandra Oh, The Chair

 

 

 COURAGE IN FILMMAKING

Julia Ducournau, Titane

Sian Heder, CODA

COURAGE IN ACTING [Taking on unconventional roles that radically redefine the images of women on screen]

Halle Berry, Bruised

Sandra Bullock, The Unforgivable

WOMEN'S WORK: BEST ENSEMBLE CAST

Kathryn Hunter as The Three Witches, The Tragedy Of Macbeth 

King Richard

THE INVISIBLE WOMAN AWARD [Supporting performance by a woman whose exceptional impact on the film dramatically, socially or historically, has been ignored]

Danielle Deadwyler as Cathay Williams, The Harder They Fall

Rae Dawn Chong, The Sleeping Negro

WOMEN SAVING THEMSELVES AWARD

A Quiet Place Part II

Holler

BEST KEPT SECRET - Overlooked Challenging Gems

Mama Weed, Director Jean-Paul Salomé

Small Time, Directress Niav Conty

 

 

 

              Mama Weed - Isabelle Huppert

 

 

OUTSTANDING SERIES [Television or Streaming]

Lovecraft Country

The Handmaid's Tale

MOMMIE DEAREST - WORST SCREEN MOM OF THE YEAR 

Olivia Colman, The Lost Daughter

HALL OF SHAME [Individual Member Picks]

Free Guy - for giving us a kickass, lead female gamer, only to take her away by making her a manic pixie dream girl who just wants a boyfriend. 

Zola - for turning a true cautionary tale about sex trafficking into a dangerous sex farce for the male gaze.

Benedetta - a film about an early church feminist played as softcore porn

Being the Ricardos  - for taking a beloved female icon and turning her intelligence, talent and work ethic against her as a harping shrew, and the deeply flawed men around her as downtrodden male saviors.

Edgar Wright - for the disappointing third act twist in which the male predators are turned into victims in Last Night in Soho

Hollywood's attempt to cut Scarlett Johansson's payments for her work - and though the actress won the lawsuit, the Hollywood cost cutting trend now is to downsize actors in movies by maximizing documentaries as the cheap alternative - including sensationalistic reality tv style and tabloid docs.

Rita Moreno, writing about and talking about mistreatment as a Puerto Rican .but defending Lin-Manuel's lack of Afro-Latino representation with In the Heights - and becoming a media darling. Yet, because of an irresponsible statement made against the LGBTQ+ community by J.K. Rowling, she has been canceled in spite of all the work she has done for the black community and women's rights. Was this what Dave Chappelle was referring to?