The Southeastern Film Critics Association (SEFCA) yesterday named Up in the Air the Best Picture of 2009 in its 18th annual voting. Director Jason Reitman’s seriocomic look at the travels of a downsizing expert earned a total of three awards, with its other victories coming in the categories of Best Actor (George Clooney) and Best Adapted Screenplay (Reitman and Sheldon Turner, adapting Walter Kirn’s novel). [Complete list of winners at end of story.]
Spreading the wealth around, no other film won more than one award. Kathryn Bigelow earned the Best Director prize for the Iraq War drama The Hurt Locker, a critical favorite that managed to place second in the SEFCA voting in the categories of Best Picture, Best Actor (Jeremy Renner) and Best Original Screenplay (Mark Boal).
In addition to Clooney, the other victorious performers were Meryl Streep as legendary cook Julia Child in Julie & Julia, Christoph Waltz as an opportunistic Nazi officer in Inglourious Basterds, and Mo’Nique as an abusive mother in Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire. While three of the four acting contests were blowouts, the Best Actress race was tight, with Streep in a three-way battle with newcomers Gabourey Sidibe from Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire and Carey Mulligan from An Education.
In other categories, Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber landed the Best Original Screenplay citation for the romantic comedy (500) Days of Summer, France’s Summer Hours earned the Best Foreign-Language Film prize, and Food, Inc. prevailed in the Best Documentary category.
Pixar earned its umpteenth award in the Best Animated Feature category, this year for Up. However, it came close to being upset by Fantastic Mr. Fox, which was also runner-up in the Best Adapted Screenplay category and placed in the SEFCA Top 10.
In its fifth year, the Wyatt Award went to writer-director Scott Teems’ That Evening Sun, a drama starring Hal Holbrook as an elderly Tennessee farmer trying to reclaim his home. Named after the late SEFCA member Gene Wyatt, the prize seeks to honor one film each year that best embodies the essence of the South.
In addition to naming its Best Picture, SEFCA also releases its Top 10 for the year. The complete list follows.
BEST PICTURE
1. Up in the Air
2. The Hurt Locker
3. Up
4. Inglourious Basterds
5. A Serious Man
6. (500) Days of Summer
7. Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire
8. The Messenger
9. Fantastic Mr. Fox
10. District 9
BEST ACTOR
George Clooney – Up in the Air
* Runner-up: Jeremy Renner – The Hurt Locker
BEST ACTRESS
Meryl Streep – Julie & Julia
* Runner-up: Gabourey Sidibe – Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Christoph Waltz – Inglourious Basterds
* Runner-up: Woody Harrelson – The Messenger
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Mo’Nique – Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire
* Runner-up: Anna Kendrick – Up in the Air
BEST DIRECTOR
Kathryn Bigelow – The Hurt Locker
* Runner-up: Jason Reitman – Up in the Air
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber – (500) Days of Summer
* Runner-up: Mark Boal – The Hurt Locker
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner – Up in the Air
* Runner-up: Wes Anderson & Noah Baumbach – Fantastic Mr. Fox
BEST FOREIGN-LANGUAGE FILM
Summer Hours (France)
* Runner-up: The White Ribbon (Germany)
BEST DOCUMENTARY
Food, Inc.
* Runner-up: The Cove
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Up
* Runner-up: Fantastic Mr. Fox
WYATT AWARD
That Evening Sun
* Runner-up: Goodbye Solo
The Southeastern Film Critics Association is comprised of journalists from nine states representing the Southeastern section of the United States. This year, 44 members participated in the voting. The current officers are Matt Brunson of Creative Loafing – Charlotte, President; Curt Holman of Creative Loafing – Atlanta, Vice President; and Atlanta freelance film critic Mercy Sandberg-Wright, Treasurer.
This article appears in Dec 8-14, 2009.
