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2018 WAFCA Winners

Posted By Sonny Bunch On In Culture | Comments Disabled

As a film critic of medium-low importance, one of my most sacred duties is participating in the Washington Area Film Critics Association (WAFCA) year-end awards extravaganza. During this hallowed time of year, I watch dozens of movies and mine my own recollection of the good, the bad, and the ugly to determine what, precisely, the best films of the year were. At the end of this grueling process—this death march through endless stacks of DVDs, searching for the rarest pearl in an ever-increasing sea of muck—we WAFCA members nominate up to five films/people in each category. The five films/people who earn the most votes in every category are then voted upon by the whole of the membership, the winners are chosen, the press release is sent out, and blessed, blessed relief descends upon us as we put the exercise to rest for 11 months.

You can see all the nominees and the winners here. For purposes of transparency, I'm going to list my nominees in this blog post, followed by the winner and who I voted for, as well as a few stray comments here and there.

Best Picture

Winner: Roma.

So, none of the films I nominated made the top five; I ended up voting for If Beale Street Could Talk despite the fact that it's a deeply mediocre film because I was hoping to defeat a far-more-mediocre film, Green Book. If I had known Roma was the favorite of the group, I'd have gone with it in my effort to defeat Green Book. I'm actually pretty happy with Roma winning: it's a movie of magnificent, marvelous skill that leaves me feeling a bit cold despite its deeply human subject matter. It may still end up making my top ten; none of the other nominees will.

Best Director:

Winner: Alfonso Cuaron, Roma.

I voted for Cuaron, since none of my picks made the final cut. The failure of The Ballad of Buster Scruggs to receive a nomination in any category is a grave black mark on WAFCA's reputation. Also, I nominated Orson Welles because I'll probably never get to nominate Orson Welles in a category ever again, so why not?

Best Actor: 

Winner: Bradley Cooper.

I voted for Cooper. Apparently Cage just missed the cut, coming in at sixth in the list of nominees. Too bad.

Best Actress:

Winner: Lady Gaga

I voted for McCarthy. Lady Gaga winning for A Star Is Born is by far the worst choice the group made this year. She was great during the performance scenes and deeply mediocre during everything else. Cooper blew her off the screen.

Best Supporting Actor:

Winner: Mahershala Ali, Green Book. (I voted for Jordan.)

Best Supporting Actress:

Winner: Regina King, If Beale Street Could Talk. (I voted for Stone.)

Best Acting Ensemble:

Winner: The Favourite. (I voted for The Favourite.)

Best Youth Performance:

Winner: Elsie Fisher, Eighth Grade. (I voted for Simmonds.)

Best Voice Performance:

Winner: Bryan Cranston, Isle of Dogs. (I voted for Cranston.)

Best Motion Capture Performance:

Winner: Josh Brolin, Avengers: Infinity War. (I voted for Brolin, as I think did everyone else in the group.)

Best Original Screenplay:

Winner: The Favourite. (I voted for The Favourite.)

Best Adapted Screenplay:

Winner: Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty. (I voted for Holofcener and Whitty.)

Best Animated Feature:

Winner: Isle of Dogs. (I voted for Isle of Dogs.)

Best Documentary:

Winner: Won't You Be My Neighbor? (I voted for Three Identical Strangers.)

Best Foreign Language Film:

Winner: Roma. (I voted for Cold War.)

Best Production Design:

Winner: Black Panther. (I voted for The Favourite.)

Best Cinematography:

Winner: Alfonso Cuaron. (I voted for Cuaron.)

Best Editing:

Winner: Tom Cross, First Man. (I voted for Alfonso Cuaron, Adam Gough, Roma.)

Best Original Score:

Winner: Nicholas Britell, If Beale Street Could Talk. (I voted for Zimmer.)

Best Portrayal of DC:

Winner: Vice. (I voted for Vice, duh.)