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.
Ed Gonzalez
Slant Magazine, Village Voice
Best Film
1 – Rachel Getting Married
2 – In the City of Sylvia
3 – The Witnesses
4 – Standard Operating Procedure
5 – Summer Palace
6 – Encounters at the End of the World
7 – Mukhsin
8 – My Father My Lord
9 – Let the Right One In
10 – Happy-Go-Lucky
Best Performance
1 – Sally Hawkins, Happy-Go-Lucky
2 – Sean Penn, Milk
3 – Anne Hathaway, Rachel Getting Married
4 – Juliette Binoche, The Flight of the Red Balloon
5 – Ben Kingsley, Elegy
Best Supporting Performance
1 – Eddie Marsan, Happy-Go-Lucky
2 – Julia Ormand, Kit Kittredge: An American Girl
3 – Debra Winger, Rachel Getting Married
4 – Rosemarie DeWitt, Rachel Getting Married
5 – John Malkovich, Burn After Reading
Best Director
Jose Luis Guerin, In the City of Sylvia
Best Screenplay
Jenny Lumet, Rachel Getting Married
Best First Feature
My Father My Lord
Best Documentary
Standard Operating Procedure
Best Undistributed Film
1 – Tony Manero
2 – The Pope’s Toilet
3 – Foster Child
4 – Night and Day
5 – The Other
Note: NOT RANKED
Sign Up: Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! Sign up for our Email Newsletters here.