indieWIRE CRITICS' POLL '08 | Tom Charity

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.

Tom Charity
CNN.com

Best Film
1 - Encounters at the End of the World
2 - In the City of Sylvia
3 - Still LIfe
4 - Opera Jawa
5 - WALL-E
6 - Appaloosa
7 - A Christmas Tale
8 - Paranoid Park
9 - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
10 - Let the Right One In

Best Performance
1 - Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler
2 - Juliette Binoche, Flight of the Red Balloon
3 - Michelle Williams, Wendy and Lucy
4 - Lau Ching Wan, Mad Detective
5 - Sean Penn, Milk

Best Supporting Performance
1 - Josh Brolin, Milk
2 - Michael Shannon, Revolutionary Road
3 - Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight
4 - Richard Dreyfuss, W.
5 - Toby Jones, W.
Note: NOT RANKED

Best Director
Jose Luis Guerin, In the City of Sylvia

Best Screenplay
Kelly Reichardt and Jonathan Raymond, Wendy and Lucy

Best First Feature
Hunger

Best Documentary
Encounters at the End of the World

Best Undistributed Film
1 - Treeless Mountain
2 - Megane
3 - The English Surgeon
4 - The Rest Is Silence
Note: NOT RANKED