Headline, Industry News

Toronto critics name ‘No Country’ best of ’07

Thursday December 20th 2007

Joel and Ethan Coen’s No Country for Old Men has been named the best film of 2007 by the Toronto Film Critics Association.

The crime thriller dominated the annual awards, winning a total of four.

The Coens, who adapted the film from Cormac McCarthy’s novel, shared the awards for best director and for best screenplay.

In addition, their Spanish co-star, Javier Bardem, won for best supporting performance by a male.

He plays a remorseless serial killer.

Viggo Mortensen was cited for best performance by a male for his work in David Cronenberg’s Eastern Promises, which was a runner-up as best film to No Country for Old Men.

Mortensen, an American, portrays a Russian mobster playing a dangerous game in London.

There was a tie for best performance by a female between English veteran Julie Christie, the Alzheimer’s patient in Sarah Polley’s Away From Her, and Canadian newcomer Ellen Page, the pregnant teenager in Jason Reitman’s Juno.

Away From Her also won two other awards, leaving it second only to No Country for Old Men in the final tally.

Polley’s feature directorial debut won as best Canadian film and as best first feature.

The final acting award went to Australian Cate Blanchett.

She was cited for best supporting performance by a female for her portrayal of Bob Dylan in I’m Not There.

Brad Bird’s Ratatouille, the story of a French rat who yearns to become a top chef in Paris, won as best animated feature.

The best foreign-language film award went to Romanian director Cristian Mungiu’s 4 months, 3 weeks and 2 days.

American filmmaker Charles Ferguson’s No End In Sight, a chronicle of how the U.S. is conducting the Iraq War, was named as best documentary.

The Toronto Film Critics Association is comprised of critics from the major print and electronic media of the city.

The TFCA wishes to dedicate this year’s awards to the memory of co-founder and vice-president Angela Baldassare, in honour of her extraordinary efforts as the inspirational, driving force throughout the association’s history.

<b>Toronto Film Critics Association – 2007 Awards</b>

BEST PICTURE

No Country for Old Men (Alliance Films)

Runners-up

Eastern Promises (Odeon Films)

Zodiac (Paramount Pictures)

BEST PERFORMANCE, MALE
Viggo Mortensen, Eastern Promises

Runners-up

George Clooney, Michael Clayton

Gordon Pinsent, Away From Her

BEST PERFORMANCE, FEMALE — TIE

Julie Christie, Away From Her

and

Ellen Page, Juno

Runner-up

Laura Dern, Inland Empire

BEST SUPPORTING PERFORMANCE, MALE

Javier Bardem, No Country for Old Men

Runners-up


Casey Affleck, The Assassination of Jesse James By the Coward Robert Ford

Philip Seymour Hoffman, Charlie Wilson’s War

BEST SUPPORTING PERFORMANCE, FEMALE

Cate Blanchett, I’m Not There

Runners-up


Amy Ryan, Gone Baby Gone

Tilda Swinton, Michael Clayton

BEST DIRECTOR


Joel Coen & Ethan Coen, No Country for Old Men

Runners-up

David Cronenberg, Eastern Promises

David Fincher, Zodiac

BEST SCREENPLAY

Joel Coen & Ethan Coen, No Country for Old Men

Runners-up

Diablo Cody, Juno

Tony Gilroy, Michael Clayton

BEST CANADIAN FILM

Away From Her (Mongrel Media)

Runners-up

Eastern Promises (Odeon Films)

Radiant City (Odeon Films)

BEST FIRST FEATURE

Away From Her, directed by Sarah Polley

Runners-up

Gone Baby Gone, directed by Ben Affleck

Michael Clayton, directed by Tony Gilroy

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

Ratatouille (Disney/Pixar)

Runners-up

Paprika (Mongrel Media)

The Simpsons Movie (20th Century Fox)

BEST FOREIGN-LANGUAGE FILM

4 months, 3 weeks and 2 days (Mongrel Media)

Runners-up

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (Alliance Films)

The Lives of Others (Mongrel Media)

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

No End in Sight (Mongrel Media)

Runners-up

Iraq in Fragments (Mongrel Media)

My Kid Could Paint That (Mongrel Media)

<font size=1>Source: Toronto Film Critics Association press release</font>