“Everything Everywhere All at Once” tops 14th place in Best Est Dorian Awards

GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics announced their 14th Dorian Film Awards nominations last month. At the top was one of my two favorite films of the year, Everything Everywhere All at Once, which received nine nominations.

My other favorite, “Triangle of Sadness,” received just one nomination: for Outstanding and Memorable Performance by Dolly de Leon for Supporting Film Performance of the Year.

Winners will be announced on February 23rd. In the meantime, here are some predictions and preferences for the nominations.

Movie of the Year: “After Sun”; “The Banshees of Inisherin”; “Everything everywhere at once”; “The Fabelmans”; “Tar”

“Tar” (seven nominations), a film by writer-director Tom Ford starring Cate Blanchett as a dynamic, brilliant and ethically questioned music composer, “The Banshees of Inisherin” (five nominations), a film by writer-director Martin McDonagh with the seemingly ubiquitous Colin Farrell as a man who suddenly loses his best friend (Brendan Gleeson), and Aftersun (five nominations), a sure-fire debut winner from writer-director Charlotte Wells, are very good films.

However, the dynamic scriptwriter-director duo of Daniel von Kwan and Scheinert’s Comedic, Metaphysical, and Lesbian Movie, Everything Everywhere All at Once, is a gorgeous, insightful, upbeat cinematic text that deserves all the rewards it gets.

Disclaimer: I haven’t seen: “The Fabelmans” (which didn’t get a single other nomination)
Forecast: “Everything everywhere at once”
Preference: “Everything everywhere at once”

LGBTQ Movie of the Year: “Blessings”; “Brothers”; “Everything everywhere at once”; The Inspection”; “Tar”

Co-writer-director Nicolas Stoller’s well-written, occasionally inappropriately acted “Bros” is chuckle-worthy, while “The Inspection,” writer-director Elegance Bratton’s candid portrayal of a gay man, Ellis (Jeremy Pope), struggles to find it to pull off in Don’t Ask Don’t Tell Marines is damn good but hardly worth a good laugh – although there is a brilliant comedic moment involving Ellis and his CO. And like The Inspection, Everything Everywhere All at Once is about a gay kid and parental unacceptance. And the power dynamic of a powerful lesbian in “Tár” is something else entirely.

Disclaimer: I haven’t seen Benediction
Forecast: “Tar”
Preference: “The Inspection”

Director(s) of the Year: Todd Field, “Tar”; Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, “Everything Everywhere at Once”; Martin McDonagh, “The Banshees of Inisherin”; Sarah Polley, “Women in Conversation”; Charlotte Wells, “After Sun”

From Field’s epic direction in “Tár,” to the gushing direction of Kwan and Daniel Scheinert’s “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” to McDonagh’s classic restraint, Polly’s poignancy in “Women Talking,” and Wells’ poetry, there’s no weak entry here. And they all achieved excellent acting performances.

Forecast: “Everything everywhere at once”
Preference: “Everything everywhere at once”

Screenplay of the Year: Todd Field, “Tar”; Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, “Everything Everywhere at Once”; Martin McDonagh, “The Banshees of Inisherin”; Sarah Polley, “Women in Conversation”; Charlotte Wells, “After Sun”

The same nominations as the Director of the Year category are all worthy contenders, although elements of The Banshees of Inisherin are far-fetched, if not downright unbelievable.

Forecast: “Everything everywhere at once”
Preference: “Everything everywhere at once”

Non-English Language Film of the Year: “All quiet on the western front” (Germany); “Close” (Belgium); “Decision to Leave” (Korea); “EO” (Poland); “RRR” (India)

What used to be the best foreign-language film department is almost always a reliable place to go for films worth seeing. This year is pretty much the same, except for “RRR” which is, to put it nicely, a plain old campy affair.

Forecast: “Close”
Preference: “EO”

Unsung Movie of the Year (on an exceptional film that deserves more attention): “Aftersun”; “After Yang”; “Blessing”; “The Eternal Daughter”; “Good luck, Leo Grande”; “The menu”; “Emily the Criminal”

I guess “worth more attention” would apply to someone like me, since I haven’t seen “After Yang”; “Blessing”; “The Eternal Daughter”; or “Good luck, Leo Grande.” Then again, “Aftersun” doesn’t seem so unsung with five Dorian nominations.

Forecast: “After Sun”
Preference: “After Sun”

Film performance of the year: Cate Blanchett, “Tár” Austin Butler, “Elvis”; Viola Davis, “The Lady King”; Danielle Deadwyler, “Till” Colin Farrell, “The Banshees of Inisherin”; Brendan Fraser, “The Whale”; Mia Goth, “Pearl”; Paul Mescal, “After Sun”; Jeremy Pope, “The Inspection”; Michelle Yeoh, “Everything Everywhere at Once”

In its second year, GALECA no longer nominates and awards principals along the traditional Cartesian patriarchal binary categories of males and females.

Disclaimer: I haven’t seen Austin Butler, “Elvis”; Danielle Deadwyler, “Till”; and Mia Goth, “Pearl”
Forecast: Michelle Yeoh, “Everything Everywhere at Once”
Preference: Michelle Yeoh, “Everything Everywhere at Once” (Praise Overdue!)

Supporting Film Achievement of the Year: Angela Bassett, “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”; Hong Chau, “The Whale”; Jaime Lee Curtis, “Everything Everywhere at Once” Dolly De Leon, “Triangle of Sadness”; Nina Hoss, “Tár”; Stephanie Hsu, “Everything Everywhere at Once”; Barry Keoghan, “The Banshees of Inisherin”; Janelle Monáe, “Glass Onion: Knives Out”; Keke Palmer, “No”; Ke Huy Quan, “Everything Everywhere at Once”:

As with the main achievement category, Dorian nominations are not delineated by gender. While most of these nominations are worthy, there are definitely a few generous (or lethargic, or sentimental) choices here. But the worthy ones are really hard to name. You are so good!

Disclaimer: I haven’t seen Angela Bassett, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever;
Forecast: Stephanie Hsu, “Everything Everywhere at Once”
Preference: Hong Chau, “The Whale”; Dolly De Leon, “Triangle of Sadness”; Stephanie Hsu, “Everything Everywhere at Once”; Barry Keoghan, “The Banshees of Inisherin”

Documentary of the Year: “All the beauty and bloodshed”; “Fire of Love”; “Goodnight Oppy”; “Lunar Time Daydream”; “Navalny”

The crime thriller here is the best documentary of the year, All That Breathes, which is missing.

Forecast: “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed”
Preference: “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed”

LGBTQ Documentary of the Year: “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed”; “Frame of Agnes”; “Lunar Time Daydream”; “Nelly & Nadine” “Sirens”

Watch Framing Agnes before the likely Hollywood Oscar-bait version comes out.

Disclaimer: I haven’t seen Sirens
Forecast: “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed”
Preference: “Frame Agnes”

Animated film of the year: Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio; “Marcel The Shell With Shoes On”; “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish”; “To redden”; “Wendell & Wild”

Pinocchio is fast becoming the most overrated film of the year. Marcel The Shell with Shoes On is uniquely cute. “Wendell & Wild” is a challenge to complete. “Turning Red” is super adore-a-bells!

Disclaimer: I haven’t seen Puss in Boots: The Last Wish
Forecast: “Pinocchio”
Preference: “To redden”

Other Dorian Film Award nominations include:

Film music of the year: “Babylon”, score by Justin Hurvitz; “Elvis”, score and music production by Elliott Wheeler; the music of Elvis Presley; various artists; “RRR”, score by MM Keeravani; “Tár”, score and curation by Hildur Guðnadóttir; “Women Talking”, soundtrack by Hildur Guðnadóttir

Visually Striking Film of the Year: “Avatar: The Way of Water”; “Babylon”; “Everything everywhere at once”; “Nope”; “RRR”

Campiest Film of the Year: “Babylon”; “body body body”; “Elvis”; “Glass Onion: A Knives-Out Mystery”; “Pearl”; “RRR”

The idea behind the Campiest Film of the Year category is that the nominations go to films that are really bad but you just can’t stop watching them anyway.

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