by Joal Ryan
Well, that was far from close.
Far from Heaven, director Todd Haynes' nod to glossy 1950s melodramas, was named Best Picture, and just about best everything else, picking up a field-best five honors Monday from the New York Film Critics Circle.
The scribes, 34 Gotham-based newspaper and magazine reviewers, are the latest, after the Los Angeles Critics Association and the National Board of Review, to issue their pre-Oscar picks.
But they're the first to pile on the praise for a single movie. In addition to top film, Far from Heaven was cited for direction (Haynes), acting (Dennis Quaid and Patricia Clarkson, named Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress, respectively) and cinematography.
The only bigger surprise than Far from Heaven's margin of victory (no other film won even two awards) was that it wasn't bigger. Julianne Moore, honored by both the L.A. critics and the NBR for playing a housewife who learns her perfect husband is perfectly gay (Quaid), didn't rate with the New York voters.
In a twist, Diane Lane, who has managed a tidy 23-year film career without much help from the award shows, was named Best Actress for cheating on Richard Gere in Unfaithful.
Two days after being lauded by L.A. reviewers, Daniel Day-Lewis was lauded by the New York ones, again named Best Actor for Gangs of New York.
The L.A. and New York writers slightly disagreed on who wrote 2002's Best Screenplay: Charlie Kaufman (with fictional twin Donald) was honored by the New Yorkers for failing to adapt journalist Susan Orlean's book in Adaptation; the Angelinos placed Kaufman's script in the runner-up slot to Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor's About Schmidt.
No disagreements here: Spirited Away, the hit Japanese 'toon released stateside by Disney, was named Best Animated Feature by the NYC scribes, just like it was by the L.A. contingent; Mexican import Y Tu Mama Tambien was hailed by both groups as the Best Foreign-Language Film.
The Broadcast Film Critics Association is out with its Critics Choice nominees tomorrow. And the Hollywood Foreign Press Association weighs in with its film--and TV--picks on Thursday, as the nominations for the 60th annual Golden Globes are announced. The real-deal Oscar nominations are scheduled to be unveiled February 11.
Winners of the New York critics awards, meanwhile, are to be presented with their honors January 12 in Manhattan.
Here's a rundown of the New York Film Critics Circle's 68th annual awards:
© 2002 E! Online