indieWIRE CRITICS' POLL '08 | Scott Tobias

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.

Scott Tobias
The A.V. Club

Best Film
1 - Rachel Getting Married
2 - WALL-E
3 - 4 Months, 3 Weeks And 2 Days
4 - Standard Operating Procedure
5 - Paranoid Park
6 - Man On Wire
7 - Funny Games
8 - Wendy And Lucy
9 - The Dark Knight
10 - Stuck

Best Performance
1 - Anamaria Marinca, 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days
2 - Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler
3 - Philip Seymour Hoffman, Synecdoche, New York
4 - Benicio Del Toro, Che
5 - Sally Hawkins, Happy-Go-Lucky
Note: NOT RANKED

Best Supporting Performance
1 - Bill Irwin, Rachel Getting Married
2 - Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight
3 - Russell Brand, Forgetting Sarah Marshall
4 - Rosemarie DeWitt, Rachel Getting Married
5 - Robert Downey Jr., Tropic Thunder
Note: NOT RANKED

Best Director
Jonathan Demme, Rachel Getting Married

Best Screenplay
Fatih Akin, The Edge Of Heaven

Best First Feature
Ballast

Best Documentary
Standard Operating Procedure

Best Undistributed Film
1 - 35 Shots Of Rum
2 - Liverpool
3 - Goodbye Solo
4 - Still Walking
5 - Three Monkeys
Note: NOT RANKED