Winners of the 1st Annual RFP Overlooked Awards

Welcome to the 1st annual Overlooked Awards. This is a chance to recognize those films, performances, directors, screenplays and animated shorts, which are all worthy of award recognition, but didn't received nominations at the big awards. Even though its one of those categories that the typical fan dreads to pick for polls, I'm privileged to see many of the wonderful short animated films that are made each year. So I thought it was my duty to recognize the shorts that I felt deserved nods as well.

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Winner: LITTLE CHILDREN
Only second to PAN'S LABYRINTH on my top 25 of 2006 list, LITTLE CHILDREN is a masterful step forward for Todd Field, who was earlier nominated for IN THE BEDROOM as a producer. Early buzz had this film in the running for the Oscars, but it just never gained traction. Its tongue-in-cheek voice-over is the best and most original use of voice-over I've seen in years. It's nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay was extremely well deserved. Field pulled career best performances from his entire cast, including Oscar nominees Kate Winslet and Jackie Earle Haley as well as Patrick Wilson, Jennifer Connelly, Noah Emmerich and Phyllis Somerville. Field poetically realizes his screenplay, which he adapted with the original book's author Tom Perrotta. It tackles delicate topics with intelligence and open-mindedness. This is one of the few masterpieces of the year and needs to be seen from everyone.

Honorable Mentions
BRICK
In my book, this was the coolest film of the year. This retro-film noir set in a modern high school gets the honorary badass certificate of 2007.

CHILDREN OF MEN
Nominated in several categories at the Academy Awards, including Best Adapted Screenplay, this modern sci-fi epic takes its premise of a world where people can no longer have kids to poignant and universal levels. Sci-fi is often overlooked, but when it's this smart it ends up being more powerful than so many "important" films wish they were.

THE GOOD SHEPHERD
Robert DeNiro's cerebral look at the birth of CIA is something that will only gain in prestige over time. Shrinking attention spans don't help films that have patience and don't ramp up the drama. This really feels like what it must be like to be a real spy.

UNITED 93
Director Paul Greengrass was nominated for Best Director for his documentary-like chronicling of the heroes of Flight 93 on 9/11. This fascinating film will stand as the first great film about September 11. It may have been too tough to watch for some, which may have cost it come award time, but history will certainly be more kind… at least it should be.

Best Actor
Winner: Sacha Baron Cohen — BORAT
What Sacha Baron Cohen pulled off in BORAT only goes to show his enormous talent. His nomination for Adapted Screenplay feels more like a consolation prize for what really made the film a success and that's the completely focused performance of Cohen. He must stay in character under such tense situations that it's unbelievable he can keep a straight face. Additionally, his quick wit only allows him to take advantage of situations when they develop naturally. It's simply remarkable.

Honorable Mentions
Daniel Craig — CASINO ROYALE
For months, fans complained about Daniel Craig. Then CASINO ROYALE arrived in theaters and Craig shut them all up. He handles the iconic role with suave grace and sly wit. He nails every moment in the best Bond script in years. He's not only capable in the role, but is key to redefining it for the next generation.

Matt Damon — THE GOOD SHEPHERD
Damon will win an Oscar one day. He shines in a tough role in THE GOOD SHEPHERD. His ability to allow us to retain sympathy for his cold and calculating spy without overplaying it in the beginning just goes to show how confident of a performer he is.

Johnny Depp — THE LIBERTINE
This film came out in early 2006, but was quickly forgotten. However, I never forgot Depp's performance, which warranted a third nomination in a row. By selling the Earl of Rochester's passion, Depp allows us to care for a despicable character. Remarkable stuff.

Ken Wantanabe — LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA
Wantanabe brings dignity to the general who must send his troupes into a battle he knows they cannot win. His doubts boil underneath, but his duty to Japan never wavers. Wantanabe amazingly brings out all the conflicting feelings in between. And you never missed a moment of it even if you don't understand Japanese.

Best Actress
Winner: Maggie Gyllenhaal — SHERRYBABY
How Maggie Gyllenhaal doesn’t have any Oscar nominations this year is unbelievable. In addition to her respected work in WORLD TRADE CENTER and STRANGER THAN FICTION, Gyllenhaal also elevated SHERRYBABY to another level in a daring performance. Often when talking about female performances, "daring" is a code word for "nude scenes." And yes, Gyllenhaal handles nudity naturally, but it’s the emotional nakedness of the character in various scenes that is amazing. Gyllenhaal is never afraid to show all the sides of her angry, vulnerable character. This is also the winner of the biggest crime certificate for "what were they thinking?"

Honorable Mentions
Yeong-ae Lee — LADY VENGEANCE
Along with BRICK, LADY VENGEANCE is one of the top badass pictures of 2006. A main part of this is due to the pitch perfect performance from Yeong-ae Lee. Sexy, cunning, vulnerable and smart, Lee makes Geum-ja more than a wronged woman looking for revenge, but an icon of hurt and regret.

Gretchen Mol — THE NOTORIOUS BETTIE PAGE
I never paid much attention to Gretchen Mol before. Now I look forward to her next performance now. Mol embodies classic pin-up girl Page, creating a remarkable character, which is both innocent and intelligent. Fascinating work.

Ellen Page — HARD CANDY
Some roles need a perfect performance or the film will fail. HARD CANDY received that from teenager Ellen Page. Her strong and powerful performance is intense and multilayered. She makes her manipulative character vastly intriguing for how she hints at secrets that she never reveals.

Keke Palmer — AKEELAH AND THE BEE
In a vastly overlooked great family film, Keke Palmer shines as a South Los Angeles student who dreams of winning the National Spelling Bee. Provided with a layered role, Palmer makes the most of the well-defined character. She is an effortlessly likable performer.

Best Supporting Actor
Winner: William Hurt — THE KING
William Hurt garnered an Oscar nod for A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE mainly due to how different a role it was for him. However, that role is nothing compared to his work in THE KING. Provided with his most complex character in years, Hurt creates a strictly conservative preacher into someone we hate at first, but come to like over time with total believability. His skill to make the change of heart seem like it’s a natural change in the character is amazing. When I think of his performance, the phrase that comes to mind is "purely authentic."

Honorable Mentions
Michael Caine — CHILDREN OF MEN
In the dark future of a world where people cannot reproduce, Michael Caine adds the perfect dose of humor to the story. In the truest sense of the word, he supports the other actors, helping define the motives and actions of Clive Owen's leading role. And his eerie resemblance to John Lennon only adds to the part.

Kazunari Ninomiya — LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA
Only if the U.S.'s pop stars could act as well as Kazunari Ninomiya. The Japanese singer is the heart of LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA. As a grunt in the army, he effortlessly makes us connect to his situation. Provided with a layered character, he slowly builds the torment in Saigo as he has to fight a battle he knows the Japanese cannot win. He is our eyes through the world and he makes us see and feel what its like.

Michael Sheen — THE QUEEN
As remarkable as Helen Mirren's performance is in THE QUEEN, the film would only be a one-trick pony if it weren't for the powerful performance of Michael Sheen as Tony Blair. It's through Blair's eyes that we see the Queen and Sheen's perfect portrayal leads us from disrespect for the crown to a humble respect for the challenges of the monarchy.

Stanley Tucci — THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA
Along with Meryl Streep and Emily Blunt, Stanley Tucci helps raise THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA by crafting a truthful character from something that could so easily have been an awful caricature. With less to work with, Tucci actually has a more difficult task than Streep. He creates a gay fashion guru without tapping into any of the typical gay stereotypes. His restraint is remarkable, making the character funnier and infinitely more compelling than if it were played over-the-top.

Best Supporting Actress
Winner: Juliette Binoche — BREAKING AND ENTERING
I think I may have been the only person in town who really liked Anthony Minghella's BREAKING AND ENTERING. Looking back, Juliette Binoche's performance still stands out. She creates a caring mother character that seems real because we relate to her humanity. The screenplay takes the character in difficult directions and Binoche sells every moment. Making the performance even more remarkable is the fact that French-speaking Binoche does the film in English with a dead-on Serbian accent. That's a skilled performer.

Honorable Mentions
Toni Collette — THE NIGHT LISTENER
Toni Collette received an Oscar nod for thriller THE SIXTH SENSE, but her work in thriller THE NIGHT LISTENER is infinitely more interesting. Given a rich and complex role, Collette could have copped out and tapped into similar characters, but she instead creates something completely original.

Shareeka Epps — HALF NELSON
Ryan Gosling deserved his Oscar nod for HALF NELSON, but so did his young co-star Shareeka Epps. For a young actress, her commitment to the performance is impressive. She's a streetwise kid from a bad neighborhood who has a sweet innocence lying underneath. Yet, it's like no other streetwise kid from a bad neighborhood you have ever seen. She truly becomes the character — just watch her smile, which speaks volumes. It's a subtle performance that many adults couldn’t pull off.

Vera Farmiga — BREAKING AND ENTERING
Vera Farmiga broke onto the scene this year in a big way in THE DEPARTED, but her performance in BREAKING AND ENTERING is the one from 2006 I will remember. She plays her pushy prostitute with enormous energy and wonderful comic timing. She's a spark of life in the film that is really missed when her character disappears from the film.

Frances McDormand — FRIENDS WITH MONEY
In a good, but not great film, Frances McDormand outshines the rest of the ensemble cast. She makes her bitter and depressed character like none other. Jane's flamboyant behavior is cringe inducing at times, but not because it's over-the-top, but because we've seen people freak out in public just like her. Oscar-winner McDormand continues to work at the top of her game in everything she does.

Best Director
Winner: Todd Field — LITTLE CHILDREN
Todd Field moves into the realm of auteur with LITTLE CHILDREN. He adapted the screenplay and masterfully executes the tricky material. Slier and more clever than AMERICAN BEAUTY, Field patiently builds his theme and reveals it in a perfectly constructed scene at the football stadium. In bringing all the elements together in the end, he delivers an intelligent and tense conclusion that is unforgettable.

Honorable Mentions
Alfonso Cuaron — CHILDREN OF MEN
In Alfonso Cuaron's deft hands, CHILDREN OF MEN mixes smarts, emotional poignancy and humor in perfect doses just at the right times. He crafts a believable near future and uses a brilliantly constructed long take in the end that isn't just for flare, but enhances the mood and themes perfectly.

Robert DeNiro — THE GOOD SHEPHERD
In his second outing as a director, Robert DeNiro shows the patience of a veteran filmmaker. His skills behind the camera truly shine in how he is able to balance the multiple timelines and vast landscape of decades without losing the driving force of the narrative.

Michael Haneke — CACHE
Michael Haneke makes frightening thrillers. Haneke's use of flat long takes brilliantly builds an uneasy tension in this skillful thriller about dealing with wrongs you committed in the past. His pacing is perfect. The final shot will be debated forever.

Rian Johnson — BRICK
Along with his wonderfully written screenplay, Rian Johnson wins the certificate for breakout of the year. In his debut film, Johnson not only creates a completely original film, but also carries out a complex plot that could have tripped up a vet. BRICK is destined to be a cult classic and presents an impressive calling card for a vastly talented new filmmaker.

Best Screenplay
Winner: Frank Cottrell Boyce — TRISTRAM SHANDY: A COCK AND BULL STORY
This was the hardest category to pick a single winner for, because all the screenplays are equally great. However, I give the nod to Frank Cottrell Boyce for ingeniously finding a way to adapt a virtually unfilmable novel into a smart and compelling picture, which presents a "story within a story" structure that works wonderfully. I love how Boyce works the themes and topics of the film adaptation of the novel into the "real" world of the film production. Comedies are rarely this smart, which makes it that more impressive and refreshing.

Honorable Mentions
Guillermo Arriaga — THE THREE BURIALS OF MELQUIADES ESTRADA
Guillermo Arriaga was nominated this year for BABEL for Best Original Screenplay, but MELQUIADES ESTRADA has far more complex and intriguing characters than any of the characters in BABEL. Darkly humorous, Arriaga weaves great thoughts and powerful drama into his simple narrative. For me the complexity of BABEL is a bit of smoke and mirrors while MELQUIADES ESTRADA takes its time to define its main characters fully while building a large supporting cast that only adds to the overall message and mood of the film's world.

Rian Johnson — BRICK
Dialogue, dialogue, dialogue. The slick speech of the hip characters takes some time to get use to, but it only adds to the rewatchability of the film. This is easily the most quotable film of the year.

Neil Marshall — THE DESCENT
Good horror films are few and far between. So when one comes out, there needs to be recognition paid. Neil Marshall brilliantly uses the claustrophobic confines of a dark cave perfectly. He paces the film well and takes time to develop his characters before putting them in peril. A script for all aspiring horror filmmakers to read.

Eric Roth — THE GOOD SHEPHERD
Much like Robert DeNiro, Eric Roth writes a screenplay that captures the passing of time perfectly without losing momentum. He finds many nice sequences that define his characters' personalities and motives. He also handles multiple themes equally well, bringing them wonderfully together in the end.

Best Animated Short
Winner: THE RUNT — Andreas Hykade
Andreas Hykade's dark film about a little boy who saves the runt rabbit on his family's farm is heartbreaking and powerful. It's message of life and death is tough and hard to swallow, but it reflects a side of life that few filmmakers dare to touch. This is too challenging and too dark for the tastes of the Academy, but it's brilliant and needs to be seen.

Honorable Mentions
DREAMS AND DESIRES — FAMILY TIES — Joanna Quinn
On the day of the Oscar nominations, this was the biggest surprise for me when it wasn't nominated. Joanna Quinn's exquisitely hand drawn comedy won top honors around the globe, but was probably a bit too "British" or a bit too "insider" for the Academy. The thick accents of the voice-over also make it tough, but upon multiple viewings more and more of its charms are revealed. Film fans will find the story very rewarding as a hapless woman tries to make a huge production out of filming a wedding. For it's amazing animation alone it makes the overlooked five in my book.

GUY 101 — Ian Gouldstone
Another film that is probably way too challenging for the Academy, Ian Gouldstone simply animated tale about a man who meets another man on the Internet who tells him about a strange encounter he had with a hitchhiker is darkly humorous and clever to the nth degree. Utilizing many typical computer and roadway icons, Gouldstone constructs his visuals in a way that don't tell the story, but constantly comment on it. It's smart and innovative. You've never seen anything like it.

HERE AND THERE — Obom
The National Film Board of Canada was rightfully nominated for the Oscar for its wonderful animated short THE DANISH POET, but it could have easily earned a second nomination for Obom's biographical short HERE AND THERE. The sweet and funny story tells of the narrator's time in the States and in France and her close relationship with her brother. Timing is everything in this nostalgic tale.

NEVER LIKE THE FIRST TIME — Jonas Odell
This brilliant short was short-listed by the Academy, but it didn't make the final five. Here's another case of something not quite fitting into the humorous or heartfelt criteria that usually lands an animated short an Oscar nod. Odell tells three tales of three different individuals first sexual experiences. The first is funny and captures the awkwardness of finally getting to one's first sexual encounter. The second is painful and life altering. The final told by a man in old age is sweet, tender and joyous. Each story is told in a different visual style that matches the tone of the tales perfectly. Having sex for the first time is a complex affair and Odell wonderfully captures the wide range of how the experience can play out.