Gothams: It's ‘Anora' vs ‘Nickel Boys'

The Gotham Awards nominations are out and they are definitely not a predictable bunch.

The Gothams signal the beginning of awards season. They’re not necessarily any kind of precursor, but instead a nice little celebration of film. I wouldn’t take them too seriously.

This year, the committee members for Best Feature are film critics Monica Castillo, Robert Daniels, Tim Grierson, Tomris Laffly and Brian Tallerico.

It looks like it will be a two-way race for Best Feature between “Anora,” (four nominations) and “Nickel Boys” (three nominations). Meanwhile, “I Saw the TV Glow” earned three nods, but wasn’t nominated for Best Feature. Also, what’s up with “The Brutalist” missing Best Feature and Best Director?

The Gothams have again gone gender-neutral in their acting categories this year, and much like last year, the lead nominees are mostly female (7 out of 10). Some of the contenders this year, and my personal faves, include Mikey Madison (“Anora”), Adrien Brody (“The Brutalist”), Nicole Kidman (“Babygirl”), Marianne Jean-Baptiste (“Hard Truths”) and Demi Moore (“The Substance”).

Also, Pamela Anderson getting nominated for “The Last Showgirl” is somewhat unexpected, and don’t think an Oscar nomination is now expected in her near future, maybe a Globe nom. Fact of the matter is that Best Actress is a very competitive category this year, and Anderson’s performance isn’t gaining enough traction for a nomination.

A number of films did not submit this year for a variety of reasons, including “Emilia Perez,” “Gladiator II,” “A Complete Unknown,” “Wicked,” and “Nosferatu.” With that said, here are the nominees for the 34th Gotham Awards:

Best Feature 

Anora
Babygirl
Challengers
A Different Man
Nickel Boys

Best International Feature

All We Imagine as Light
Green Border
Hard Truths
Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell
Vermiglio

Best Documentary Feature 

Dahomey
Intercepted
No Other Land
Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat
Sugarcane
Union

Best Director

Payal Kapadia (All We Imagine as Light)
Sean Baker (Anora)
Guan Hu (Black Dog)
Jane Schoenbrun (I Saw the TV Glow)
RaMell Ross (Nickel Boys)

Best Screenplay

Between the Temples (Nathan Silver, C. Mason Wells)
Evil Does Not Exist (Ryûsuke Hamaguchi)
Femme (Sam H. Freeman, Ng Choon Ping)
His Three Daughters (Azazel Jacobs)
Janet Planet (Annie Baker)

Breakthrough Director

Shuchi Talati (Girls Will Be Girls)
India Donaldson (Good One)
Alessandra Lacorazza (In the Summers)
Vera Drew (The People’s Joker)
Mahdi Fleifel (To a Land Unknown)

Outstanding Lead Performance 

Pamela Anderson (The Last Showgirl)
Adrien Brody (The Brutalist)
Colman Domingo (Sing Sing)
Marianne Jean-Baptiste (Hard Truths)
Nicole Kidman (Babygirl)
Keith Kupferer (Ghostlight)
Mikey Madison (Anora)
Demi Moore (The Substance)
Saoirse Ronan The Outrun)
Justice Smith (I Saw the TV Glow)

Outstanding Supporting Performance

Yura Borisov (Anora)
Kieran Culkin (A Real Pain)
Danielle Deadwyler (The Piano Lesson)
Brigette Lundy-Paine (I Saw the TV Glow)
Natasha Lyonne (His Three Daughters)
Clarence Maclin (Sing Sing)
Katy O’Brian (Love Lies Bleeding)
Guy Pearce (The Brutalist)
Adam Pearson (A Different Man)
Brian Tyree Henry (The Fire Inside)