Detroit Film Critics Society announce best of 2021

Courtesy of DFCS

The Detroit Film Critics Society is pleased to announce the BEST OF 2021 nominees and winners thirteen categories. The Detroit Film Critics Society was founded in Spring 2007 and currently consists of a group of 12 film critics from Michigan who write or broadcast in the metro-Detroit area. 

Each critic submitted their top 5 picks in the following 13 categories: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor,

Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Ensemble, and Breakthrough in any

category, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Screenplay, Best Documentary, Best Animated Feature, and

Best Use of Music. From these submissions, each entry was given a point value and the top 5 in each

category have been placed on the final ballot.

CYRANO had a total of 4 nominations and two wins in the categories of Best Picture and

Best Actor for Peter Dinklage. KING RICHARD also received 4 nominations and finished

with one win for Jon Bernthal as Best Supporting Actor. TICK, TICK…BOOM! received 4

nominations as well with one win for director Lin-Manuel Miranda. Jessica Chastain took

the Best Actress award for her transforming performance in THE EYES OF TAMMY FAYE.

Two categories ended in a tie. FLEE and SUMMER OF SOUL tied for Best Documentary

while Best Breakthrough went to Woody Norman, for his performance in C’MON C’MON and

Emma Seligman, the writer and director of SHIVA BABY. See the full results below.

PICKED BY THE DETROIT FILM CRITICS SOCIETY

WINNERS ARE BELOW IN RED BOLD LETTERS

1. BEST PICTURE

BELFAST

CODA

CYRANO

DON’T LOOK UP

KING RICHARD

2. BEST DIRECTOR

SEAN BAKER – RED ROCKET

KENNETH BRANAGH - BELFAST

DAVID LOWERY – THE GREEN KNIGHT

ADAM MCKAY – DON’T LOOK UP

LIN-MANUEL MIRANDA – TICK, TICK…BOOM!
 

3. BEST ACTOR

NICOLAS CAGE - PIG

PETER DINKLAGE – CYRANO

ANDREW GARFIELD – TICK, TICK…BOOM!

OSCAR ISAAC – THE CARD COUNTER

WILL SMITH – KING RICHARD

4. BEST ACTRESS

JESSICA CHASTAIN – THE EYES OF TAMMY FAYE

ALANA HAIM – LICORICE PIZZA

JENNIFER HUDSON - RESPECT

NICOLE KIDMAN – BEING THE RICARDOS

KRISTEN STEWART - SPENCER

5. BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

JON BERNTHAL – KING RICHARD

TROY KOTSUR - CODA

JARED LETO – HOUSE OF GUCCI

RAY LIOTTA – THE MANY SAINTS OF NEWARK

KODI SMIT-MCPHEE – THE POWER OF THE DOG

6. BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

ARIANA DEBOSE – WEST SIDE STORY

KIRSTEN DUNST – THE POWER OF THE DOG

AUNJANUE ELLIS – KING RICHARD

RITA MORENO – WEST SIDE STORY

DIANA RIGG – LAST NIGHT IN SOHO

7. BEST ENSEMBLE

CODA

DON’T LOOK UP

THE FRENCH DISPATCH

THE HARDER THEY FALL

HOUSE OF GUCCI

8. BEST BREAKTHROUGH (Tie)

ALANA HAIM – ACTRESS – LICORICE PIZZA

EMILIA JONES – ACTRESS - CODA

WOODY NORMAN – ACTOR – C’MON, C’MON

AGATHE ROUSSELLE – ACTRESS - TITANE

EMMA SELIGMAN – WRITER/DIRECTOR – SHIVA BABY

9. BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

JANE CAMPION – THE POWER OF THE DOG

SIAN HEDER – CODA

QUIARA ALEGRÍA HUDES – IN THE HEIGHTS

STEVEN LEVENSON – TICK, TICK…BOOM!

DAVID LOWERY - THE GREEN KNIGHT

10. BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

PEDRO ALMODÓVAR – PARALLEL MOTHERS

PAUL THOMAS ANDERSON – LICORICE PIZZA

WES ANDERSON – THE FRENCH DISPATCH

ADAM MCKAY – DON’T LOOK UP

JEYMES SAMUEL, BOAZ YAKIN – THE HARDER THEY FALL

11. BEST DOCUMENTARY (Tie)

FLEE

ROADRUNNER: A FILM ABOUT ANTHONY BOURDAIN

THE SPARKS BROTHERS

STREET GANG: HOW WE GOT TO SESAME STREET

SUMMER OF SOUL

12. BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

BELLE

CRYPTOZOO

ENCANTO

FLEE

LUCA

THE MITCHELLS VS. THE MACHINES

13. BEST USE OF MUSIC

CYRANO

IN THE HEIGHTS

LAST NIGHT IN SOHO

TICK, TICK…BOOM!

WEST SIDE STORY