Cast: Mike Birbiglia, Gillian Jacobs, Keegan Michael Key, Chris Gethard, Tami Sagher, Kate Micucci
Director: Mike Birbiglia
Writer: Mike Birbiglia
Cinematographer: Joe Anderson
Editor: Geoffrey Richman
Composer: Roger Neill
“Hell Or High Water” (David Mackenzie, USA 2016)
Cast: Chris Pine, Ben Foster, Jeff Bridges, Gil Birmingham, Katy Mixon, Dale Dickey
Director: David Mackenzie
Writer: Taylor Sheridan
Cinematographer: Giles Nuttgens
Editor: Jake Roberts
Composer: Nick Cave
“The Accountant” (Gavin O’Connor, USA 2016)
strongest: minorities (autistic hero + colored woman as investigator)
weakest: script + message
Cast: Ben Affleck, J.K. Simmons, Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Robert C. Treveiler, John Lithgow, Anna Kendrick, Jeffrey Tambor, Jon Bernthal
Director: Gavin O’Connor
Writer: Bill Dubuque
Cinematographer: Seamus McGarvey
Editor: Richard Pearson
Composer: Mark Isham
“The Girl On The Train” (Tate Taylor, USA 2016)
strongest: images
weakest: message + montage
Unnecessary flashbacks + a faulty change of POV
Cast: Emily Blunt, Haley Bennett, Rebecca Ferguson, Justin Theroux, Luke Evans, Edgar Ramírez, Laura Prepon, Allison Janey, Lisa Kudrow
Director: Tate Taylor
Writer: Paula Hawkins (novel), Erin Cressida Wilson
Cinematographer: Charlotte Bruus Christensen
Editor: Andrew Buckland, Michael McCusker
Composer: Danny Elfman
“Denial” (Mick Jackson, USA 2016)
strongest: message + originality + minorities
weakest: humor + music
Cast: Rachel Weisz, Tom Wilkinson, Timothy Spall, Andrew Scott
Director: Mick Jackson
Writer: Deborah Lipstadt (book), David Hare
Cinematographer: Haris Zambarloukos
Editor: Justine Wright
Composer: Howard Shore
“Frank & Lola” (Matthew Ross, USA 2016)
strongest: originality + direction + music + minorities
weakest: message
Cast: Imogen Poots, Michael Shannon, Justin Long, Rosanna Arquette, Michael Nyqvist, Emmanuelle Devos
Director: Matthew M. Ross
Writer: Matthew M. Ross
Cinematographer: Eric Koretz
Editor: Jennifer Lilly, Rebecca Rodriguez
Composer: Danny Bensi, Saunder Jurriaans
“Lantana” (Ray Lawrence, Australia 2001)
strongest: minorities
weakest: humor
Of the four couples whose inner life is exposed, trust is only found in the non-caucasian one.
Cast: Anthony LaPaglia, Kerry Armstrong, Rachael Blake, Geoffrey Rush, Barbara Hershey, Vince Colosimo
Directed by Ray Lawrence
Written by Andrew Bovell
“The Past” (Asghar Fahradi, France 2016)
strongest: script + personages + minorities
weakest: humor
The more you learn about the situation, the more complex it gets, the more distant and evasive truth becomes.
Cast: Bérénice Bejo, Tahar Rahim, Ali Mosaffa, Pauline Burlet
Director: Asghar Farhadi
Screenplay: Asghar Farhadi, Massoumeh Lahidji
“Things To Come” (Mia Hansen-Love, France 2016)
strongest: gender
weakest: humor
Cast: Isabelle Huppert, André Marcon, Edith Scob, Roman Kolinka, Sarah Le Picard
Director: Mia Hansen-Løve
Writer: Mia Hansen-Løve
Cinematographer: Denis Lenoir
Editor: Marion Monnier
“Bridget Jones’s Baby” (Sharon Maguire, USA 2016)
strongest: humor
weakest: script + message
Cast: Renée Zellweger, Colin Firth, Jim Broadbent, Gemma Jones, Patrick Dempsey
Director: Sharon Maguire
Writer: Helen Fielding, Dan Mazer, Emma Thompson
Cinematographer: Andrew Dunn
Editor: Melanie Ann Oliver
Music: Craig Armstrong