The dark Western “The Power of the Dog” is the best movie of 2021, according to the Utah Film Critics Association, which selected the winners for its annual awards Saturday.
The film, which stars Benedict Cumberbatch as a cruel ranch owner in 1925 Montana, received four awards from the critics’ group: Best picture, best director for Jane Campion, best male supporting performance for Kodi Smit-McPhee, and best original score for composer Jonny Greenwood.
“The Power of the Dog,” a major contender for this year’s Academy Awards, is available to stream on Netflix.
The runner-up for best picture was “CODA,” the Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize winner about a deaf family running a fishing boat in Massachusetts, whose hearing daughter (Emilia Jones) discovers a talent for singing. “CODA” (the title is an acronym for “child of deaf adults”) won two awards from the critics, for Jones’ lead female performance and director Siân Heder’s adapted screenplay. The film is available to stream on Apple TV+.
(Seacia Pavao | Netflix) Emilia Jones stars as the hearing daughter of a deaf family in the comedy-drama "CODA." Jones' lead performance and director Siân Heder's adapted screenplay received awards from the Utah Film Critics Association, in a vote held Dec. 18, 2021.
Nicolas Cage was given the prize for lead male performance for his portrayal of a reclusive ex-chef searching for his kidnapped truffle pig in “Pig.” The award for supporting female performance went to Ann Dowd for “Mass,” playing a mother of a teen killer meeting the parents of one of his victims.
The other multiple winner was the animated documentary “Flee,” which chronicles the journey of an Afghan refugee to Denmark. It won the awards for animated feature and non-English language feature.
Here is the complete list of winners and runners-up:
Best Picture • Winner: “The Power of the Dog.” Runner-up: “CODA.”
Achievement in Directing • Winner: Jane Campion, “The Power of the Dog.” Runner-up: Steven Spielberg, “West Side Story.”
Lead Performance, Male • Winner: Nicolas Cage, “Pig.” Runner-up: Andrew Garfield, “tick, tick… BOOM!”
Lead Performance, Female • Winner: Emilia Jones, “CODA.” Runner-up: Olivia Colman, “The Lost Daughter.”
Supporting Performance, Female • Winner; Ann Dowd, “Mass.” Runner-up: Ariana DeBose, “West Side Story.”
Supporting Performance, Male • Winner: Kodi Smit-McPhee, “The Power of the Dog.” Runner-up: Troy Kotsur, “CODA.”
Vice/Martin Award • (Award given to the best performance in a science fiction, fantasy or horror movie.) Winner: Tony Leung, “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.” Runner-up: Dev Patel, “The Green Knight.”
Original Screenplay • Winner: Michael Rianda & Jeff Rowe, “The Mitchells vs. The Machines.” Runner-up: Fran Kranz, “Mass.”
Adapted Screenplay • Winner: Siân Heder, “CODA.” Runner-up: Maggie Gyllenhaal, “The Lost Daughter.”
Cinematography • Winner: Andrew Droz Palermo, “The Greek Knight.” Runner-up: Bruno Delbonnel, “The Tragedy of Macbeth.”
Original Score • Winner: Jonny Greenwood, “The Power of the Dog.” Runner-up: Bo Burnham, “Inside.”
Film Editing • Winner: Sarah Broshar and Michael Kahn, “West Side Story.” Runner-up: Myron Keratin and Andrew Weisblum, “tick, tick… BOOM!”
Documentary Feature • Winner: “The First Wave.” Runner-up: “Flee.”
Animated Feature • Winner: “Flee.” Runner-up: “The Mitchells vs the Machines.”
Non-English Language Feature • Winner: “Flee.” Runner-up: “A Hero.”
Editor’s note • Tribune reporter Sean P. Means is a voting member of the Utah Film Critics Association.
Follow @SeanPMeans