Once a director gets classified as a provocateur, it’s a label that can be hard to shake off. Rick Alverson earned that title three years ago with The Comedy, his extremely uncomfortable (and funny) takedown of ironic detachment. In that film, Tim Heidecker played someone who thrived on being repulsive and confrontational, and it was easy to treat his character as a symbol for a specific, rotting part of today’s culture. Entertainment, Alverson’s follow-up, is another piece of provocation that will naturally get compared and contrasted with The Comedy; Heidecker returns to co-write the screenplay (and show up in a cameo), and Alverson continues showing off his knack for creating interactions that can have people crawling in agony towards the exits. But Entertainment provokes in a more insidious manner than The Comedy. If Alverson’s previous film focused on attacking character, stretching a protagonist’s “likability” to the breaking point and beyond (think of Heidecker’s character as less of an anti-hero and more of an asshole), then his latest work sets its sights on dismantling structure and narrative. That makes Entertainment feel more specific and less like a commentary or something symbolic, so it can be harder to glean what Alverson’s real intent might be with his increasingly surreal story. The results are murkier, for better and worse.

So it makes sense to cast someone like Gregg Turkington in the central role, a person whose career involves blurring the lines between reality and fiction. Turkington is known best as Neil Hamburger, a comedian who specializes in antihumour, taking familiar aspects of stand-up comedy and performance and aggressively going against expectations. But in recent years he’s also played “Gregg Turkington,” a version of himself that co-hosts the web series On Cinema, along with being involved in its spinoff Decker. In Entertainment, Turkington plays “The Comedian,” a stand-up travelling across the Mojave Desert with his act (an exact version of Turkington’s Neil Hamburger character). A young clown (Tye Sheridan) appears from time to time as an opener with his own baffling act, but The Comedian travels alone, making pit stops in between his performances to indifferent crowds. Alverson expectedly basks in every millisecond of painful silence that comes after Turkington/Hamburger barks out another one of his offensive jokes. Enjoying these scenes, and enjoying Entertainment as a whole, is largely a make or break affair; either you like Turkington’s brand of comedy or you don’t.

The majority of Entertainment plays out as a portrait of one man’s loneliness, with Turkington usually framed in a way that makes him look swallowed up by the desert landscapes (Lorenzo Hagerman’s cinematography is one of, if not the best parts of the film). His interactions with people are usually brief, except for a sequence where he visits a cousin (John C. Reilly) who’s too business-minded to comprehend what The Comedian’s purpose really is. A series of voicemails The Comedian makes to his daughter (who’s never seen or heard) throughout also provides a little bit of characterization, even if it feels like it’s there to make the character look like more of a desperate sad sack. It’s only until a meeting with a chromotherapist (Lotte Verbeek), followed by a brutal encounter with a drunk heckler (Amy Seimetz) that Alverson starts letting go of his formal grip on the film, providing one surreal encounter after another that escorts The Comedian from the purgatory of his desert tour to some sort of deranged, Lynchian hell. Levels of discomfort get ratcheted up considerably as The Comedian’s disdain of others, along with accepting his own pitiful existence, reach a fever pitch when he makes it to the final stop on his trip. Entertainment ends with the image of The Comedian laughing hysterically, which is both the character’s most expressive moment in the film and the point where Alverson lets go of the film’s connection to any form of reality. The Comedian’s eventual acceptance of his own existence as a punchline doesn’t land as strongly as it should, a result of Alverson’s tendency to create compelling scenes that stand on their own yet link together in an aimless fashion, but there’s something powerful in Entertainment’s ability to push down into the darkest depths without any hesitation. Alverson, whose singular style makes him one of US indie’s most important voices right now, confirms what The Comedy established three years ago: he’s a filmmaker brimming with potential, but for the time being someone to watch rather than behold.

Thomas Bidegain, the screenwriter of well-renowned French films A Prophet, Rust and Bone and this year’s Palme D’Or winner Dheepan, makes his directorial debut with Les Cowboys, which might be the first “French western” I’ve heard of. In what might be a cheeky acknowledgment of his appropriation of the Western, Bidegain opens his film at a country-western festival in France. Alain (Francois Damiens) and his family attend, with Alain having a ball as he sings “Tennessee Waltz” for the crowd and dances with his 16-year-old daughter Kelly (Iliana Zabeth). But when it’s time to leave Kelly is nowhere to be found, and after several days of searching a letter written by Kelly comes in the mail saying she’s run off with her Muslim boyfriend Ahmed. Kelly tells her family not to look for her, but Alain never stops searching, taking his son Kid (Finnegan Oldfield) with him throughout Europe as he spends years trying to track down Kelly.

It’s surprising that Bidegain’s screenplay turns out to be the weakest link in Les Cowboys given his writing background. While he’s undeniably inspired by Hollywood classics like The Searchers, it’s like he’s confused a basic and lacking approach with a classical one. Alain is a one-note character, more or less repeating himself throughout (find a lead, aggressively interrogate people about his daughter, freak out, get another lead, wash rinse repeat). Damiens does a fine job as Alain, but his intimidating presence vanishes as the monotony of his character sinks in. And then Bidegain, possibly aware of his own story going nowhere, suddenly changes things up by switching the focus to Kid in the second half as he heads off alone to Afghanistan. It would be a nice change of pace and setting if Oldfield didn’t have the charisma of a wooden block, mostly keeping his face expressionless and his mouth shut while travelling with an American he encounters on his trip (John C. Reilly in a wasted cameo). At least the scenery looks quite nice, thanks to cinematographer Arnaud Portier.

But if Bidegain wants viewers to join in on his film’s long, plodding journey, he has to make his characters worth following. Alain and Kid are too underdeveloped and stale to bother caring about, and even though Les Cowboys shouldn’t really be about the mystery surrounding Kelly, her whereabouts become the most involving element of the film. Putting aside Bidegain’s other problems—like his awkward attempt to shoehorn 9/11 into the narrative—Les Cowboys never gets out of the gate because, as a character-based drama, it fails to provide a single character worth investing in.

How does one even begin to describe the enigma that is Yorgos Lanthimos’ The Lobster? Since reading a brief description of its bizarre narrative months ago, it has been one of my most anticipated films of the year (and made our list for most anticipated films of 2015), and those familiar with Lanthimos’ previous work (most notably his 2009 Academy Award nominated film Dogtooth) are probably aware of how strange his work can be—but never without justification. The Lobster tells the story of David (Colin Farrell), a man who has recently been left by his partner and decides to check into The Hotel, where he has a month and a half to meet a new, suitable partner, otherwise he will be transformed into an animal of his choice.

The Lobster functions as part absurdist comedy, part dark romance and part social satire. The comedy is sharp and the romantic elements provide it with a sense of lightness which would have otherwise been absent; the execution of its societal commentary, however, is what sends it into uncharted territory, and the main reason why it comes across as such a deeply original work. Lanthimos pokes fun at certain commonalities of the modern romantic relationship, such as the notion that “birds of a feather flock together,” by utilizing the element of exaggeration. For instance, each character in the film has their singular unique characteristic. David is nearsighted, and thus is only interested in finding a woman who is nearsighted as well. The Limping Man (Ben Whishaw) pursues a woman who suffers from frequent nosebleeds, so in order to capture her attention and fool her into thinking that they are a match, he begins inflicting trauma on his nose, causing it to bleed when in her presence.

When I first saw Dogtooth, I praised it for its technical mastery: its carefully framed static shots, sharp editing and claustrophobic production design. Still, something held me back from fully embracing it, and looking back on the viewing experience now, I’m certain it was that I had a difficult time trying to figure out what it was saying about civilization. Its surreal and otherworldly, for sure, but what sort of comment is it trying to make about the human condition? It is indeed a tough egg to crack. The Lobster, on the other hand, is much more coherent (and dare I say accessible) in its satire. I don’t want to get ahead of myself, as I never thought I would be describing a Lanthimos film as accessible, but I definitely think people will have an easier time figuring out the meaning behind all of the madness here.

The technical elements of The Lobster are just as sound as those of Dogtooth, and aesthetically similar. The camera is almost perpetually static, and much attention is paid to the framing of certain shots, which is interesting because it allows the director to isolate aural elements such as off-screen noises that, though they cannot be seen, having a significant bearing on specific scenes. The musical score is jarring, but not in a negative way; I imagine it will be one of the first technical aspects that viewers take notice of, as its a loud and powerful score which makes itself known within the first few minutes. There isn’t much that I would change about The Lobster; if I was to suggest anything to the editors, it would be to pick out and remove certain scenes which might not seem as pertinent as others, for the film does exhaust a bit in its third act. Aside from that, it is a hilarious and biting critique of interpersonal relationships that is sure to appeal to a wider audience than Lanthimos’ previous works, and may bring him back into the limelight when award season rolls around.

While zombie movies can be traced back to the 1930s, the modern zombie film era is generally accepted to have begun with George A. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead (1968). Since then, the zombie movie has been a staple at the cinema and at home, with offerings ranging from the totally ’80s classic Night of the Comet to the biggest box office zombie flick yet, World War Z. Because there are only so many ways to serve up brains, and with TV’s The Walking Dead doing an excellent job of that on a regular basis, filmmakers are taking unique approaches to zombies and treating them as characters, not just mindless threats. Now we have tales of zombie romance such as the latest zombie movie to hit theaters, Life After Beth.

Zach Orfman (Dane DeHaan) is a devastated teen. His girlfriend, Beth Slocum (Aubrey Plaza), has died, and not long after the couple’s last discussion revolved around ending their relationship. In the days after her funeral, the young man clings to Beth’s memory and spends as much time with her parents as he can. He grows suspicious, however, when the Slocums (John C. Reilly and Molly Shannon) stop returning his calls. A visit to their house – where they pretend not to be home – reveals the truth behind their sudden secrecy: Beth is alive.

Well, sort of.

Beth is a zombie, only she doesn’t realize it. (Her parents see her as being resurrected.) As she and Zach rekindle their romance, Beth slowly deteriorates in both body and mind.

Life After Beth’s premise tantalizes before the film even fades in. Despite what feels like market saturation, zombies are still all the rage. The film’s plot (my dead girlfriend doesn’t know she’s dead) is a clever one. The leads are talented, good-looking, and popular. The supporting cast is terrific (including Paul Reiser and Cheryl Hines as Zach’s parents), with decades of cumulative comedic acting experience among them. This is a film that is aching to succeed.

Unfortunately the film’s concept works better on paper than it does as a movie. Life After Beth‘s fatal flaw is that there is little to the story beyond the clever premise.

Writer/director Jeff Baena spends the first act of the film slogging through a set-up that includes creating a contrived conflict between Zach and Beth’s parents. Time is also wasted establishing Zach’s own parents, with their yelling and their disbelief and their short attention spans, as adults from a bad sitcom. Never does Baena show Beth’s death, her “resurrection,” or her triumphant return home. It’s mentioned, not shown.

The middle of the film is nothing more than a series of sketches, each as unfunny as the one before it, and only made different by Beth’s continued deteriorating physical and mental condition. There is, also, the introduction of a girl from Zach’s childhood, Erica Wexler (Anna Kendrick), inserted (I guess) to offer a future for Zach once Beth goes Full Zombie. It’s an inserted idea yet not well-developed; another great talent wasted.

The third act is perhaps the most baffling aspect of the entire film. I don’t want to spoil anything by revealing details, however the path the story takes seems to occur out of the blue as a device used to help bear the weight of the film’s non-full length structure and is highly frustrating. This third act surprise could have been nicely developed early, and then followed throughout the film as a meaty subplot.  Instead, it’s triggered as an escape hatch to bring the film to a preposterous conclusion.

It’s hard to fault anyone in the cast for their work, because no one is given much to work with in the first place. As noted, Reiser and Hines have a sitcom sensibility to them, as does Shannon. Reilly is only slightly elevated because he’s given more relevant dialogue than the rest of the grown-ups. Plaza does fine descending from hapless to mindless. Honestly, there isn’t an MVP performance in the bunch.

Everyone should walk away from this unscathed, but it will be curious to see how DeHaan’s career is affected. In Life After Beth, he’s pale and he broods and stumbles about in a disbelieving haze, none of which is memorable. However, this is his second subpar outing in 2014 (following the terrible The Amazing Spider-Man 2), so 2015 might be pivotal for the young actor. He has a period piece (Tulip Fever) coming out, but more importantly, he is playing James Dean in Anton Corbijn’s Life, a role that might be make-or-break for him.

The zombie genre will (un)live on beyond Life After Beth, a film that feels like a Halloween entry of a Saturday Night Live routine that may have been funny in a short sketch, but can’t survive being stretched out over 90 minutes.

Life After Beth trailer

We Need to Talk About Kevin is haunting and chilling thriller that was based on a book by Lionel Shriver that rehashes the classic debate of nature-versus-nurture in an uncompromising art-house style. It marks the third feature film Lynne Ramsay has directed. The film is an unsettling view of a mother who must deal with her troubled son and the trouble he causes. Through the use of many flashbacks, the non-linear narrative reveals piece by piece how something is not right about Kevin.

Eva Khatchadourian (Tilda Swinton) waits patiently in the lobby awaiting her job interview while nearly the entire office of workers seems to be silent and starring at her. Not because she is just an outsider of the company but because of who she is. When her name is called the air out of the building has been sucked out. The interviewer says to Eva, “I don’t really care who you are or what you have done so long as you can type and you can file you can have this job.” Eva is relieved and thanks her.

As she walks out of the building she interviewed in with a half-smile of relief an older lady walks up to her verbal assaults her and then punches her in the face. A man who witnesses the incident asks if he should call the police on the lady, Eva responses no and takes the blame herself. At this point in the film we are not sure what has happened exactly. But we know whatever it is it is obviously not good.

Kevin was ornery his entire life. As a baby he was almost always screaming, except when held by Franklin (John C. Reilly). He would not participate in rolling back a ball to his mother. Eva was concerned that perhaps something was wrong with her son so she brings him to a doctor. First she thought he may have damaged hearing but a doctor said he could hear just fine. Because he was not talking as other children his age have by now, she thought maybe he had autism. But the doctor insisted that there is nothing wrong with Kevin.

As Kevin grows older so does Eva’s frustration with Kevin. She cannot get him to do anything she wants him to do. She had to change his diapers well past the point that a child should wear them because he refused to cooperate. But Kevin has always been receptive of Franklin, even before he could remember as a baby, which has always bothered Eva. Franklin does not see what all the fuss is about with Kevin.

It appears that only Eva notices the dangers of the problem child while everyone else around her thinks he is just a typical teenage boy. Something about the satisfaction he gets when doing something wrong is disturbing to her. I will not reveal what ends up happening, not that it would completely ruin the film but because the film does such a good job showing you bits and pieces of what happens.

Eva believes she deserves the blame for what Kevin has done. Her punishment is not moving away and dealing with people that treat her like dirt. At one point in the film she buys broken eggs and does not ask for a refund in order to not being seen in the grocery store, then eats an omelet filled with broken shells. She even believes that she will go to hell for all eternity.

The use of the color red is liberally used throughout the entire film to symbolize blood and danger. Everything from vibrant close-ups of an alarm clock, curtains in their home, ketchup on a plate of eggs, Kevin’s toys, aisle of tomato soup cans, red is found in almost every scene. You do not even have to be paying close attention, it is so wonderfully overwhelming that you cannot miss it.

You know an actor has done their job when you cannot imagine anyone else playing their role. Tilda Swinton went beyond that, it was if the role was written for her. She says so much with her body language and expressions alone, her best scenes require no speaking on her part.

We Need to Talk About Kevin is like a train wreck, you do not necessarily enjoy what you are watching but yet it is so compelling that you cannot turn away. It is wonderfully shot with symbolism in abundance, a score by Jonny Greenwood that is as eerie as the film itself and stellar acting performances. As the title suggests, once the film is over you will need to talk about Kevin.

Cedar Rapids is a comedy that shares some similarities to The Hangover aside from just Ed Helms, who seems a lot like Steve Carell in The 40 Year Old Virgin. It is about a man who must come out of his shell to stand up for what he believes is the right thing to do. Always raunchy, often funny, but rarely more than bland.

Tim Lippe (Ed Helms) is a simple man from Brown Valley, Wisconsin who is easily entertained by the little things in life and clearly has not ventured far from home. Case in point when he rents a car he is ecstatic to find out it is a shiny red Chevrolet Cobalt, a fairly basic family sedan. He has never flown in an airplane nor stayed in a hotel before.

Perhaps one of the reasons why Tim is so sheltered is because of how socially awkward the guy is or at the very least it does not help matters. He does not have much of a sense of humor and is the type that probably can count his sins on one hand. Although, it is not a sin to have regular intercourse with your junior high school teacher (Sigourney Weaver), it is a bit odd.

Selling insurance is something that he excels in because his clients know they can trust him. He takes a lot of pride in working for Brown Star Insurance, so when an opportunity to win the prestigious Two Diamond Award arises, his boss Bill (Stephen Root) assigns him to go.

Cedar Rapids, Iowa is where the convention is held for this award so that is where Tim must travel to. Cedar Rapids to Tim is like Las Vegas to most people; it is where people from this convention go to get away from their daily problems via partying because regret does not exist there. One even says, “What happens in Cedar Rapids stays in Cedar Rapids.”

For guidance purposes, Bill gives Tim a list of who to avoid and who to stick with at this convention. The list of people to stick with is plentiful while only one person is labeled to avoid and his name is Dean Ziegler (John C. Reilly). He is known as a poacher, known in the insurance industry as someone who steals clients.

When Tim arrives in Cedar Rapids he thinks the two-star hotel’s lobby is incredible and thinks the chlorine smell of the pool is a luxury. Tim is very leery about given his credit card to the front desk even though it is a standard procedure among all hotels. When he arrives at his room he is taken aback when someone is in there. Although, he seems he is more uncomfortable about the man being African American than simply a person in his room.

This man turns out to be his roommate. He is a “straight-shooter” named Ronald Wilkes (Isiah Whitlock Jr.) from the St. Cloud, Minnesota area. Ronald was on Bill’s list as someone to stick with so Tim knows he is no threat. Ronald informs Tim of some good and bad news. The good news is that they got a junior suite upgrade because the hotel was running out of rooms. The bad news is they will be getting another roommate. I bet it would only take you one guess to figure out who it will be. That is correct, Dean Ziegler.

Dean Ziegler best describes his own self, “What isn’t wrong with me? I talk too much, I drink too much, I weigh too much. I piss people off.” That in a nutshell is Dean Ziegler. A true rebel who likes to party and can easily talk you into something you do not want to do. He is everything that Tim is not, a dangerous man that easily influences people like Tim.

Tim wants the relationship with his old teacher to continue but she is fresh off a divorce. They want two completely different things, she wants to have some fun and he wants to settle down. It is when she uses a metaphor of a bird nudging her young birds to fly away from the nest does he finally understand he needs to let go of her.

That seems to be a turning point for Tim’s character, no longer is he tied down, instead he realizes he is free. But it would not be the last time he has to question is morals. Tim finds out the real way the award is won and must rely on help from people he least expected.

The film’s director, Miguel Arteta, embellishes the portrayal of the Midwest like films such as Fargo have done in the past. However, that is expected in movies to do so. For the most part Arteta does a good job at showing stereotypical rural living Midwestern personality traits; trustworthy, simple, and friendly.

Ed Helms does an excellent job in his first major leading role in film. He plays the sheltered and reserved guy well and does a good job showing his other side when the film calls for it. As for John C. Reilly, I personally think he is best when serious, despite mostly playing wacky roles as of late. It is not to say he does not do funny well, because he does, I just think his serious work is superior. If you liked his roles in Step Brothers, Walk Hard and Talladega Nights, you will love him here.

Cedar Rapids receives most of its humor from crude one-liners that are sure you make you crack a smile more than once. Looking at the whole picture, the funny scenes and great characters are slightly overshadowed by the poor storyline. Even by typical comedy standards it felt too straight forward. Even though there were some funny scenes throughout, there were not enough to cover up for the lack of story.

Cyrus is not quite the comedy the trailers have you believe it is. This indie film is much more than your typical John C. Reilly and Jonah Hill slapstick you are accustom to seeing in Judd Apatow films, it adds a touch of dark creepiness. Written and directed by upcoming indie superstar duo Mark and Jay Duplass, Cyrus takes cues from their previous films such as, The Puffy Chair and Baghead. In other words, it is wonderful. I would be lying if I said I was not excited when it was announced they were doing this film.

John (John C. Reilly) is socially inept who openly admits is lonely, depressed and desperate after being separated from his wife for seven years now. Just days away from his ex-wife getting married, she feels bad for John and wants him to move on with his life. She knows he needs a relationship for this to happen, so she drags him to a party.

At a party that he not only was not thrilled on going to, let alone meet someone at, he finds a girl named Molly (Marisa Tomei). Even though John is completely drunk beyond reason, for which he can thank his ex-wife for, Molly looks past that. She is in a lot of ways like John, lonely and single for far too long.

He is overly excited when she comes over for the first date, someone that every male can probably empathize with. He purchases condoms, wine, makes dinner and even puts in a few last minute sit-ups. What John lacks in confidence, which is a lot, he more than compensates in honestly. As in this case, sometimes the two are not completely unrelated. The date goes well but ends mysteriously when she tries to sneak out but is caught by John.

John suspiciously follows her home and accidentally falls asleep in his car. The next morning he discovers that she has a son named Cyrus (Jonah Hill). The two oddly hit it off being completely and sometimes too open with each other. Cyrus being overly welcome, invites him to stay for dinner, which John eagerly agrees to.

Something strange happens the next morning as he is about to leave, his shoes are missing. He becomes a little paranoid that something is up. He consults his ex-wife whom which is also his co-worker it turns out. She tells him to forget about it and pretend it never happened. Partly, because she does not believe they took the shoes but mostly because she wants him to be in a relationship more than anyone.

John, as well as the viewer, begins to question whether or not Cyrus is trying to sabotage their relationship or if the bizarre and overly welcome encounters are legit. The film then shifts it’s focus around Cyrus. Hence, the title of the film. The romantic comedy takes a sharp turn and reveals a darker side.

We see John go through an amazing character development as he transforms into a new person. He goes from the timid and lonely, depressed person, to a smart and tactful one. In many ways, his character is a reprise from his character in Magnolia. I am not only talking about him being in a more serious role in general but specifically similar personalities. I missed that John C Reilly. Apparently, so did others as he was nominated for Best Male Lead at Independent Spirit Awards.

Cyrus does not rely solely on John C. Reilly to carry the film though, nearly equally as impressive are Marisa Tomei and Jonah Hill. Tomei is plays a lovable character that is hard not to like. Hill shows that he can play an unlikeable, dark and creepy character instead of the usual pure comedy role. I am not putting down his typical roles, because I find them, and subsequently him, to be hilarious. It is delightful to see this different side of him.

For better or worse, the film was shot in a typical Duplass style. Which feels very amateur, almost home movie style with random snap-zooms. Personally, I think it works here but others may not agree. The dialog between characters was very natural and believable. The film as a whole is completely realistic. Which is tends to be a recurring trademark of the Duplass brothers and what has become known as the mumblecore movement. They achieve this by less script and rehearsal and more improvisation on the set.

Cyrus is a straight forward and incredibly honest film, two simple qualities that big budget films should take note of. It proves that you do not need an overly complicated plot with unrealistic situations in order to make a film interesting. Throw in terrific acting performances by the cast and you have yourself one very superb indie film.

The 2011 Independent Spirit Award nominations were announced today with Debra Granik’s Winter’s Bone being the front runner. Winter’s Bone could be this year’s Precious as it has the most nominations this year with seven which include; Best Feature, Best Director, Best Screenplay and acting nominations for Jennifer Lawrence, Dave Dickey, and John Hawkes. Some of the other major nominees include The Kids Are All Right which received 5 nominations, Black Swan and Rabbit Hole which received 4. All four of those films have a good chance at Oscar nominations as well.

Although, I have not seen the Duplass brother’s Cyrus or Philip Seymour Hoffman‘s Jack Goes Boating, I am a little surprised that they were not one of the major contenders. I suppose Jack Goes Boating did haul in 3 nominations and Cyrus did receive 1 for Best Male Lead. I would have thought they would have had some more praise considering the people behind the films. Also Best Worst Movie did not make an appearance for Best Documentary, bummer.

Joel McHale will host the 26th Film Independent Spirit Awards in Santa Monica on Saturday, February 26 which will air that night on IFC at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT.

127 Hours, Danny Boyle, Christian Colson, John Smithson
Black Swan, Scott Franklin, Mike Medavoy, Arnold W. Messer, Brian Oliver
Greenberg, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Scott Rudin
The Kids Are All Right, Gary Gilbert, Philippe Hellmann, Jordan Horowitz, Jeffrey Levy-Hinte, Celine Rattray, Daniela Taplin Lundberg
Winter’s Bone, Alix Madigan-Yorkin, Anne Rosellini

Darren Aronofsky, Black Swan
Danny Boyle, 127 Hours
Lisa Cholodenko, The Kids Are All Right
Debra Granik, Winter’s Bone
John Cameron Mitchell, Rabbit Hole

Everything Strange and New, directed by Frazer Bradshaw; Producers: A.D. Liano, Laura Techera Francia
Get Low, directed by Aaron Schneider; Producers: David Gundlach, Dean Zanuck
The Last Exorcism, directed by Daniel Stamm; Producers: Marc Abraham, Tom Bliss, Eric Newman, Eli Roth
Night Catches Us, directed by Tanya Hamilton; Producers: Sean Costello, Jason Orans, Ronald Simons
Tiny Furniture, directed by Lena Dunham; Producers: Kyle Martin, Alicia Van Couvering

Daddy Longlegs, written and directed by Benny Safdie and Josh Safdie; Producers: Casey Neistat, Tom Scott
The Exploding Girl, written and directed by Bardley Rust Gray; Producers: Karen Chien, Ben Howe, So Yong Kim
Lbs., directed by Matthew Bonifacio, written by Matthew Bonifacio and Carmine Famiglietti; Producers: Matthew Bonifacio, Carmine Famiglietti
Lovers of Hate, written and directed by Bryan Poyser; Producer: Megan Gilbride
Obsedila, written and directed by Diane Bell; Producers: Chris Byrne, Mathew Medlin

Stuart Blumberg, Lisa Cholodenko, The Kids Are All Right
Debra Granik, Anne Rosellini, Winter’s Bone
Nicole Holofcener, Please Give
David Lindsay-Abaire, Rabbit Hole
Todd Solondz, Life During Wartime

Diane Bell, Obselidia
Lena Dunham, Tiny Furniture
Nik Fackler, Lovely, Still
Bob Glaudini, Jack Goes Boating
Dana Adam Shapiro, Evan M. Wiener, Monogamy

Annette Bening, The Kids Are All Right
Greta Gerwig, Greenberg
Nicole Kidman, Rabbit Hole
Jennifer Lawrence, Winter’s Bone
Natalie Portman, Black Swan
Michelle Williams, Blue Valentine

Ronald Bronstein, Daddy Longlegs
Aaron Eckhart, Rabbit Hole
James Franco, 127 Hours
John C. Reilly, Cyrus
Ben Stiller, Greenberg

Ashley Bell, The Last Exorcism
Dale Dickey, Winter’s Bone
Allison Janney, Life During Wartime
Daphne Rubin-Vega, Jack Goes Boating
Naomi Watts, Mother and Child

John Hawkes, Winter’s Bone
Samuel L. Jackson, Mother and Child
Bill Murray, Get Low
John Ortiz, Jack Goes Boating
Mark Ruffalo, The Kids Are All Right

Adam Kimmel, Never Let Me Go
Matthew Libatique, Black Swan
Jody Lee Lipes, Tiny Furniture
Michael McDonough, Winter’s Bone
Harris Savides, Greenberg

Exit Through The Gift Shop, Banksy
Marwencol, Jeff Malmberg
Restrepo, Tim Hetherington, Sebastien Junger
Sweetgrass, Ilisa Barbash, Lucien Castaing-Taylor
Thunder Soul, Mark Landsman

Kisses, Lance Daly
Mademoiselle Chambon, Stéphane Brizé
Of Gods and Men, Xavier Beauvois
The King’s Speech, Tom Hooper
Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives, Apichatpong Weerasethakul

Please Give
Director: Nicole Holofcener
Casting Director: Jeanne McCarthy
Ensemble Cast: Ann Guilbert, Rebecca Hall, Catherine Keener, Amanda Peet, Oliver Platt, Lois Smith, Sara Steele

In-Ah Lee, Au Revoir Taipei
Adele Romanski, The Myth of the American Sleepover
Anish Savjani, Meek’s Cutoff

Hossein Keshavarz, Dog Sweat
Laurel Nakadate, The Wolf Knife
Mike Ott, Littlerock

Ilisa Barbash, Lucien Castaing-Taylor, Sweetgrass
Jeff Malmberg , Marwencol
Lynn True, Nelson Walker, Summer Pasture