Los Angeles Film Critics Name Best Actress Front Runner Lily Gladstone Runner Up…For Best Supporting Actress

LA Film Critics Could Change the Dynamics of the Best Actress Race

The Los Angeles Film Critics have chosen their winners for the year and, in a huge upset, Oscar front-runner, Lily Gladstone, fell a little short of expectations.

Until today, the odds-on favorite to win Best Actress at the Academy Awards next year was Lily Gladstone for her brilliant performance in Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon. Sandra Hüller (Anatomy of a Fall, The Zone of Interest) and Emma Stone (Poor Things) beat her out in the Best Leading Performance category. Gladstone wasn’t even in the runners-up (Leading Performance) category which included two men, Jeffrey Wright (American Fiction) and Andrew Scott (All of Us Strangers).

Rachel McAdams was selected as Best Supporting Performance for Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. alongside predicted winner, Da’Vine Joy Randolph for The Holdovers. Then, something interesting happened. Gladstone’s name appeared as a “runner-up” in the Best Supporting Performance category alongside Ryan Gosling (Barbie). If ever there was an oddity in an awards distribution, it is this case where the wonderful Lily Gladstone who stars in a three-hour plus dramatic movie was bested by McAdams whose comedy movie premiered back in April to just OK box-office numbers.

Lily Gladstone’s performance (considered by many a true leading role) in Killers of the Flower Moon is still expected to land a Best Actress nomination come Oscar time but could this “supporting” declaration by the LA Film Critics hurt her chances of winning? Possibly, but that would not be fair. For one, Gladstone’s performance is a very delicate and nuanced piece of acting that is among the best performances of the decade so far. What way will the Oscar nomination officially go for her? Leading or supporting? I predict leading but the Los Angeles Film Critics have certainly shaken things up a bit.

It doesn’t stop there. In addition, The Zone of Interest (to be reviewed by FilmBook tomorrow night) took Best Picture from the Los Angeles Film Critics over the likes of contenders like Killers of the Flower Moon. Oppenheimer was the “runner-up.” While everybody has a favorite performance and movie of 2023, the choices which were revealed by the Los Angeles Film Critics have thrown a wrench into the proceedings for now with no male performance taking the “win” (not counting runners-up) in the Best Performance categories.

Killers of the Flower Moon was not my favorite movie of the year (not sure yet if it ranked in my top 20) but it’s undeniable that Gladstone’s work is of the highest quality and her performance was a one-of-a-kind piece of acting. An Academy Award nomination is almost assured, but in which category will it come? All opinions are welcome.

Leave your thoughts on Lily Gladstone’s role in Killers of the Flower Moon and its Oscar chances below in the comments section. Readers seeking to support this type of content can visit our Patreon Page and become one of FilmBook’s patrons. Readers seeking more movie news can visit our Movie News Page, our Movie News Twitter Page, and our Movie News Facebook Page. Want up-to-the-minute notifications? FilmBook staff members publish articles by Email, Feedly, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, Pinterest, Reddit, Telegram, Mastodon, and Flipboard. This news was brought to our attention by Variety.