indieWIRE CRITICS' POLL '08 | Richard Brody

This is the latest ballot in indieWIRE's 2008 Critics Poll, continuing the tradition of a national survey of critics by calling attention to the year's best -- and, in many cases, most overlooked -- films, providing a meaningful counterpoint to much of the year-end hoopla. Note that some lists are unranked at the discretion of the critic. For all categories except Best Undistributed Film, eligible feature films had first-run theatrical engagements in the U.S. during 2008. Films without a U.S. distributor, screened anywhere (festival circuit, one-off screenings, etc.), are eligible in the Best Undistributed Film category. The full list of critics poll ballots is available here at indieWIRE and tabulated results are being published by indieWIRE later this month.

Richard Brody
The New Yorker

Best Film
1 - Still Life
2 - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
3 - Woman on the Beach
4 - Fengming: A Chinese Memoir
5 - The Other Half
6 - Cassandra's Dream
7 - Frownland
8 - Gran Torino
9 - Paraguayan Hammock
10 - Summer Palace

Best Performance
1 - Dore Mann, Frownland
2 - Galina Vishnevskaya, Alexandra
Note: NOT RANKED

Best Supporting Performance
1 - Russell Brand, Forgetting Sarah Marshall
2 - Jane Lynch, Role Models
Note: NOT RANKED

Best Director
Jia Zhangke, Still Life

Best Screenplay
Eric Roth, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Best First Feature
Frownland

Best Documentary
Fengming: A Chinese Memoir

Best Undistributed Film
1 - 24 City
2 - Night and Day
3 - Chouga
Note: NOT RANKED