…and the 2019 BAM Awards go to…
Without further ado, here are my honorees for 2019. The honored film and/or performer is in Bold.
Avengers: Endgame
The Goldfinch
It: Chapter 2
Midsommar
Us
No film I saw this year was as layered and as worthy of revisiting.
Not awarded.
Is not being awarded this year because the category had morphed into being about films that didn’t have a distributor or were under distributed. I saw no films that qualified in that sense this past year.
Ari Aster Midsommar
John Crowley The Goldfinch
Andy Muschietti It: Chapter 2
Jordan Peele Us
Anthony Russo and Joe Russo Avengers: Endgame
Peele’s vision for this film oozes off this film from the opening frame.
Jessica Chastain It: Chapter 2
Lupita Nyong’o Us
Aubrey Plaza Child’s Play
Florence Pugh Midsommar
Octavia Spencer Ma
Lupita Nyong’o delivers the two best performances of the year in this film.
Robert Downey, Jr. Avengers: Endgame
Winston Duke Us
Taron Egerton Rocketman
Joaquin Phoenix Joker
James Ransone It: Chapter 2
Phoenix is a one-man show and a rather spectacular one at that.
Awkwafina Jumanji: The Next Level
Carrie Fisher Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
Isabelle Huppert Greta
Nicole Kidman The Goldfinch
Juliette Lewis Ma
Danny Devito Jumanji: The Next Level
Angus Imrie The Kid Who Would Be King
Samuel L. Jackson Captain Marvel
Will Poulter Midsommar
Bill Skarsgård It: Chapter 2
It’s really not about the de-aging, Sam Jackson steals a lot of this movie.
Robert Downey, Jr., Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evan, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Hemsworth, Jeremy Renner, Don Cheadle, Paul Rudd, Benedict Cumberbatch, Chadwick Boseman, Brie Larson, Tom Holland, Karen Gillan, Zoe Saldana, Evangeline Lilly, et al. Avengers: Endgame
Oakes Fegley, Ansel Elgort, Nicole Kidman, Jeffrey Wright, Luke Wilson, Sarah Paulson, Willa Fitzgerald, Finn Wolfhard, Aimee Laurence, Carly Connors, Ryan Foust, Jack DiFalco, Collin Shea Shirrmacher, Nicky Torchia, et al. The Goldfinch
Jessica Chastain, James McAvoy, Bill Hader, Isaiah Mustafa, Jay Ryan, James Ransone, Andy Bean, Bill Skarsgård, Jack Dylan Grazer, Jaeden Martell, Finn Wolfhard, Wyatt Oleff, Chosen Jacobs, Jeremy Ray Taylor, Luke Roesseler, Jackson Robert Scott, Sladen Peltier, Sophia Lillis, Ryan Kiera Armstrong, et al. It: Chapter 2
Florence Pugh, Jack Reynor, Vilhelm Blomgren, William Jackson Harper, Will Poulter, Ellora Torchia, Archie Medekwe, Henrik Norlén, et al. Midsommar
Lupita Nyong’o, Winston Duke, Winston Duke, Shahadi Wright-Joseph, Evan Alex, Elisabeth Moss, Tim Heidecker Us
What happened with It: Chapter 2 was near-impossible: they found a cast capable of believably being grown-up versions of the Losers and were equally in synch, making it an even more impressive ensemble piece.
Best Performance by a Young Actress in a Leading Role
Akira Akbar Captain Marvel
Beatrice Kitsos Child’s Play
Sophia Lillis It: Chapter 2
Jaynee-Lynne Kinchen The Curse of La Llorona
Shahadi Wright Joseph Us
As opposed to It: Chapter 2, Us is a much smaller ensemble piece as such much more of the load is shouldered by each cast member. Shahadi Wright Joseph and her counterpart interact quite a bit carrying much of that load.
Best Performance by a Young Actor in a Leading Role
Evan Alex Us
Gabriel Bateman, Child’s Play
Oakes Fegley The Goldfinch
Jackson Robert Scott The Prodigy
Louis Ashbourne Serkis The Kid Who Would Be King
To give a film called The Prodigy a chance to work requires a prodigious performance. Jackson Robert Scott here fully displays the abilities that the It films only hinted at.
Best Performance by a Young Actress in a Supporting Role
Rhianna Dorris The Kid Who Would Be King
McKenna Grace Captain Marvel
Faithe Herman Shazam!
Aimee Laurence The Goldfinch
Finley Rose Slater Playing with Fire
Rhianna Dorris’s character is one half of a tandem of reluctant heroes and plays the most nuanced of the young characters beautifully.
Best Performance by a Young Actor in a Supporting Role
Dean Chaumoo The Kid Who Would Be King
Jack Dylan Grazer Shazam!
Marcel Ruiz Breakthrough
Jackson Robert Scott It: Chapter 2
Tom Taylor The Kid Who Would Be King
Considering the synopsis Ruiz had more screen time than I anticipated, his performance is powerful, truthful, and indelible.
Jacob Tremblay, Keith L. Williams, Brady Noon, Izaac Wang, Millie Davis, Christian Darrel Scott, Macie Juiles Good Boys
Oakes Fegley, Finn Wolfhard, Aimee Laurence, Carly Connors, Ryan Foust, Jack DiFalco, Collin Shea Shirrmacher, Nicky Torchia, The Goldfinch
Jack Dylan Grazer, Jaeden Martell, Finn Wolfhard, Wyatt Oleff, Chosen Jacobs, Jeremy Ray Taylor, Luke Roesseler, Jackson Robert Scott, Sladen Peltier, Sophia Lillis, Ryan Kiera Armstrong, It: Chapter 2
Louis Ashbourne Serkis, Tom Taylor, Dean Chaumoo, Rhianna Dorris, The Kid Who Would Be King
Asher Angel, Jack Dylan Grazer, Faithe Herman, Ian Chen, Jovan Armand, Ethan Pugiotto, Landon Doak, David Kohlsmith Shazam!
There were additional young cast members this time who also had their moments, so yes, they win an encore prize because they’re spectacular.
Ari Aster Midsommar
Joe Cornish The Kid Who Would Be King
Lee Hall Rocketman
Jennifer Lee Frozen II
Jordan Peele Us
Once again Peele’s singular vision is allowed shine as he brings his own concept to the screen, this time with a greater degree of success that in his previous endeavor.
Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely Avengers: Endgame
Tyler Burton Smith, Don Mancini, John Lafia and Tom Holland Child’s Play
Peter Straughan and Donna Tartt The Goldfinch
Gary Dauberman and Stephen King It: Chapter 2
Christ McKenna & Erik Sommers Spider-Man: Far from Home
Dauberman’s task this time around is no less enviable than it was the first time around. The characters, so well-created before, must now be presented in two versions and are executed equally well.
Michael Abels Us
Joseph Bishara The Prodigy
Trevor Gureckis The Goldfinch
Bobby Krlic Midsommar
John Williams Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
To create an economy of words I’ve avoided citing all nominees in my explications. Here I cannot do that. Joseph Bishara is vastly underrated and I watched the credits to see what that Hungarian tune was and was stunned he wrote it. Gureckis’s work is lyrical. Krlic’s score is haunting and Williams’ work is his best in the series in the new trilogy. However, Abels’ work is ominous, pervasive, and has lingered with me.
Jason Ballantine It: Chapter 2
Kelley Dixon The Goldfinch
Jeffrey Ford and Matthew Schmidt Avengers: Endgame
Lucian Johnstone Midsommar
Nicholas Monsour Us
The pas de deux sequence is what sealed it for me.
Avengers: Endgame
It: Chapter 2
Midsommar
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
Us
The sound mix is a large part of what makes this film so unsettling.
Roger Deakins The Goldfinch
Mike Gioulakis Us
Pavel Pogorzelski Midsommar
Lawrence Sher Joker
Checco Varese It: Chapter 2
There aren’t many flashy vistas and the setpieces alternate between opulent New York society, Amsterdam, and quasi-abandoned sections of Las Vegas but with Deakins light and shadow are the stars always.
Julian Day Rocketman
Andrea Flesch Midsommar
Sanja Milkovic Hays Captain Marvel
Luis Sequeira It: Chapter 2
Jany Tamime The Kid Who Would Be King
Taking on Elton John as a costumer is no easy task, even less so when you have represent him on stage and off as well as varying time periods with other characters.
Avengers: Endgame
The Goldfinch
It: Chapter 2
Midsommar
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
The key to suspension of disbelief in this film is selling the location and how the characters hand themselves freely to it, a large part of that is accomplished through the intricate and beautiful art design.
It: Chapter 2
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
Us
Zombieland: Double Tap
Joker
It’s not just about clown paint but also stage blood, TV studio makeup beauty makeups–the variety within the film.
Avengers: Endgame
Midsommar
Pokémon: Detective Pikachu
The Lion King
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
What this film did so impressively is that it put cartoon characters in a real world and made them look as real, like cartoon characters would if they could walk off screen.
Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw
Happy Death Day 2U
Jumanji: The Next Level
Playing with Fire
Rocketman
Sure, it’s easy to say the music of Elton John is the soundtrack of the year. But the songs are re-recorded and rearranged, sung by his character at three ages, and at the end Taron Egerton’s version of a song blends almost seamlessly into Elton’s.
Robert Downey, Jr. Entertainer(s) of the Year Award(s)
Tom Holland
Holland’s appearances as Spider-Man continue to be stellar. One of the litmus tests of my Entertainer of the Year Award are appearances through the year. Avengers: Endgame and Spider-Man: Far From Home took care of the spring and summer appearances. At Christmas he leant his impressive voice talent to Spies in Disguise. What about the fall? Well, when it appeared Spider-Man was doomed to cinematic limbo outside the MCU after Disney and Sony couldn’t come to an agreement, he stepped in behind the scenes and helped remedy that situation. It was the kind of movie news needed this year.
Ingmar Bergman Lifetime Achievement Award(s)
George Lucas
George Lucas’s credentials need hardly be listed here. He was the architect of the Star Wars franchise and one the architects of the Indiana Jones franchise. And, of course, there are his tech innovations with THX, Industrial Light & Magic and Skywalker Sound. Normally, I want my honoree of this award to have a credit in the year of his/her honoring. Lucas does and his contribution is unconventional: of course, he’s credited with “Based on characters created by” but he also helped shape the ending which I loved.
Gunnar Björnstrand
In my viewing and re-viewing of Bergman films this past year I came to appreciate more fully the actors the he frequently worked with, none more so than Björnstrand who appeared in his works from 1944 to 1983
None.
