National Society of Film Critics announce awards
By James Verniere / Movies



NEW YORK - Feeling “Lucky”? At the 43rd annual voting session of the National Society of Film Critics, Mike Leigh’s “Happy-Go-Lucky” led the field with four major awards, although in typically idiosyncratic fashion for this group, it did not win best picture.

That award went to the Israeli hybrid “Waltz with Bashir,” newcomer Ari Folman’s animated memoir of the Israeli-Lebanese war narrated by actual participants in the battle.

Sally Hawkins took the best actress prize for her portrayal of Poppy, a young, indefatigably sunny London schoolteacher in Leigh’s film.


Leigh’s ode to joie de vivre also won the veteran British filmmaker (“Topsy-Turvy,” “Naked,” “Secret and Lies”) nods for best director and best screenplay. As Poppy’s comically volatile, increasingly unstable driving instructor, British character actor Eddie Marsan, whose performance has won wide praise, took the best supporting actor award. The late Heath Ledger, whose startling portrayal of the deranged Joker in Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight,” was the runner-up in this category.

As Harvey Milk, the first openly gay person elected to major public office in the United States, Sean Penn (“Milk”) handily won the best actor prize. Penn is touted to be a Best Actor contender in the upcoming Academy Awards. Probable fellow contenders Mickey Rourke (“The Wrestler”) and Clint Eastwood (“Gran Torino”) were first and second runners-up.


Hanna Schygulla

The veteran German actress Hanna Schygulla, best known for her collaboration with the German filmmaker Rainer Werner Fassbinder, won the best supporting actress award for her role in Turkish-German director Fatih Akin’s “The Edge of Heaven.” Likely to be Oscar nominated, Viola Davis (“Doubt”) and Penelope Cruz (“Vicky Cristina Barcelona”) were the runners-up in the category.

Also expected to be a serious Oscar contender, the surprise hit “Slumdog Millionaire,” a lush and gritty fairy tale of life in boomtown Mumbai, won the prize for best cinematography. The winner of best nonfiction film, James Marsh’s “Man on Wire,” recreates events leading up to French acrobat Philippe Petit’s famed tightrope walk between the now-fallen Twin Towers.

Given how, in recent years, the Academy has taken cues from critics’ awards, it seems likely that “Waltz with Bashir” may now find itself dancing with such stars as “WALL-E” and “Kung Fu Panda” for the Best Animated Feature statuette.