The Second Annual Miles Awards For Achievement In Film

I must confess that my movie awards season obsession has been a bit subdued this year. Unlike last year where I released comprehensive analysis of the Oscars race, complete with (mostly wrong) nomination predictions, this year I've simply been too busy to indulge my bizarre Academy Awards mania. And I say bizarre because I can certainly acknowledge how problematic the Oscars are as both a concept and as an institution...and yet I love them so. This is, I imagine, what normal people who watch sports feel like on a regular basis. As much as I love the awards season, I always feel some achievements get overlooked. Whether it's mostly unknown films like the brilliant Greek indie Chevalier, or brilliant performances in flawed films like Elle Fanning in The Neon Demon, or the true technical marvel/roller coaster ride that was Hardcore Henry, like any film buff I truly believe that I would choose better nominees than what show up at the usual awards shows. So now, for the second year, I'm present the Miles Awards for Achievement in Film, honoring the very best in movies that suit my personal tastes. As I stated last year, this is entirely my opinion--no one else is voting except me, so there is certainly some very inherent bias. In each category, I've listed a winner and then between five to nine other nominees, which are listed in order of how I'd rank them. Also, if you'd like to read more in-depth analysis of my ten Best Picture nominees, you can find that here. And now, without any further ado, the winners and nominees are...

BEST PICTURE:
Winner: Paterson
Other Nominees:
The Handmaiden
London Road
Moonlight
Mia Madre
Arrival
Remember
Chevalier
10 Cloverfield Lane 
Zootopia 

BEST DIRECTOR:

The films nominated for Best Director

Winner: Park Chan-wook, The Handmaiden
Other Nominees:
Athina Rachel Tsangari, Chevalier
Barry Jenkins, Moonlight
Damien Chazelle, La La Land
Mike Mills, 20th Century Women
Jim Jarmusch, Paterson 

BEST ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE:

The nominees for Best Actor

Winner: John Goodman as Howard Stambler, 10 Cloverfield Lane
Other Nominees:
Adam Driver as Paterson, Paterson
Christopher Plummer as Zev Guttman, Remember
Daniel Radcliffe as Manny, Swiss Army Man
Mark Rylance as the BFG, The BFG 
Dave Johns as Daniel Blake, I, Daniel Blake 

BEST ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE:

The nominees for Best Actress

Winner: Natalie Portman as Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Jackie
Other Nominees:
Elle Fanning as Jesse, The Neon Demon
Kim Tae-ri as Sook-hee, The Handmaiden
Annette Bening as Dorothea Fields, 20th Century Women
Sandra Huller as Ines Conradi, Toni Erdmann
Margherita Buy as Margherita, Mia Madre

BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE:

The nominees for Best Supporting Actor

Winner: John Turturro as Barry Huggins, Mia Madre
Other Nominees:
Andre Holland as Kevin, Moonlight
Jack Reynor as Brendan Lalor, Sing Street
Sharlto Copley as Jimmy, Hardcore Henry
Jovan Adepo as Cory Maxson, Fences
Trevante Rhodes as Chiron/"Black", Moonlight 

BEST ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE:

The nominees for Best Supporting Actress

Winner: Viola Davis as Rose Maxson, Fences
Other Nominees:
Naomie Harris as Paula, Moonlight
Gillian Jacobs as Samantha Byrne, Don't Think Twice
Hayley Squires as Katie Morgan, I, Daniel Blake
Michelle Williams as Randi, Manchester by the Sea
Rima Te Wiata as Bella Faulkner, Hunt for the Wilderpeople 

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A CHILD ACTOR:

The nominees for Best Child Actor

Winner: Royalty Hightower as Toni, The Fits
Other Nominees:
Lucas Jade Zumann as Jamie Fields, 20th Century Women
Ruby Barnhill as Sophie, The BFG
Julian Dennison as Ricky Baker, Hunt for the Wilderpeople
Ferdia Walsh-Peelo as Conor Lalor, Sing Street
Alex Hibbert as Child Chiron/"Little", Moonlight
 
BEST ENSEMBLE CAST:
Winner: Moonlight (Mahershala Ali, Patrick Decile, Naomie Harris, Alex Hibbert, Andre Holland, Jharrel Jerome, Janelle Monae, Jaden Piner, Trevante Rhodes, Ashton Sanders)

Other Nominees:
Chevalier (Giannis Drakopoulos, Kostas Filippoglou, Yorgos Kendros, Panos Koronis, Vengelis Mourikis, Efthymis Papadimitriou, Giorgos Pirpassopoulos, Sakis Rouvas)

10 Cloverfield Lane (John Gallagher Jr., John Goodman, Mary Elizabeth Winstead)

Fences (Jovan Adepo, Viola Davis, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Russell Hornsby, Saniyya Sidney, Denzel Washington, Mykelti Williamson)

Manchester by the Sea (Casey Affleck, Anna Baryshnikov, Matthew Broderick, Kyle Chandler, Lucas Hedges, Gretchen Mol, Michelle Williams, C.J. Wilson)

The Lobster (Jessica Barden, Olivia Colman, Colin Farrell, Ashley Jensen, Ariane Labed, Angeliki Papoulia, John C. Reilly, Lea Seydoux, Rachel Weisz, Ben Whishaw)

The Handmaiden (Cho Jin-woong, Ha Jung-woo, Kim Min-hee, Kim Tae-ri)

Don't Think Twice (Mike Birbiglia, Chris Gethard, Gillian Jacobs, Keegan-Michael Key, Kate Micucci, Tami Sagher)

20th Century Women (Annette Bening, Billy Crudup, Elle Fanning, Greta Gerwig, Lucas Jade Zumann)

I, Daniel Blake (Dave Johns, Dylan McKiernan, Kate Rutter, Briana Shann, Kema Sikazwe, Hayley Squires)

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY:
Winner: Jim Jarmusch, Paterson
Other Nominees:
Efthymis Filippou & Athina Rachel Tsangari, Chevalier
Kenneth Lonergan, Manchester by the Sea
Mike Mills, 20th Century Women
Benjamin August, Remember
Nanni Moretti, Francesco Piccolo, & Valia Santella, Mia Madre 

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY:
Winner: Park Chan-wook & Chung Seo-kyung, The Handmaiden
Other Nominees:
Barry Jenkins, Moonlight
Eric Heisserer, Arrival
August Wilson, Fences
Alecky Blythe & Adam Cork, London Road
Rhett Reese & Paul Wernick, Deadpool 

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN:
Winner: The Neon Demon
Other Nominees:
Tale of Tales
La La Land
The Jungle Book
The Witch
The Handmaiden 

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY:
Winner: Hardcore Henry
Other Nominees:
The Neon Demon
La La Land
The Handmaiden
Doctor Strange
Sully 

BEST SOUND (meaning the best use of sound and music in a film from a design standpoint):
Winner: La La Land
Other Nominees:
Hardcore Henry
Arrival
Swiss Army Man
Manchester by the Sea
Paterson 

BEST ISOLATED SCENE IN A MOVIE:
Winner: La La Land (Sebastian's ending piano solo dream montage)
Other Nominees:
Manchester by the Sea (Randi and Lee have a talk)
Remember (Zev meets John Kurlander)
Sing Street ("Drive it Like You Stole It" dance fantasy)
I, Daniel Blake (Katie goes to the food bank)
London Road ("It Could Be Him")
Chevalier (Dimitris' dance)
Mia Madre (Barry can't remember his lines)
Weiner ("Why did you let me film this?")
Paterson (Paterson meets Method Man)


And, if you're interested in a breakdown of the results:
STATISTICS:
The Handmaiden: 7 nominations, 2 wins
Paterson: 6 nominations, 2 wins
La La Land: 5 nominations, 2 wins
Moonlight: 8 nominations, 1 win
Mia Madre: 5 nominations, 1 win
Fences: 4 nominations, 1 win 
Hardcore Henry: 3 nominations, 1 win
The Neon Demon: 3 nominations, 1 win
10 Cloverfield Lane: 3 nominations, 1 win
The Fits: 1 nomination, 1 win
Jackie: 1 nomination, 1 win
Chevalier: 5 nominations
Manchester by the Sea: 5 nominations
20th Century Women: 5 nominations
Remember: 4 nominations
Arrival: 3 nominations
I, Daniel Blake: 4 nominations
London Road: 3 nominations
Sing Street: 3 nominations
The BFG: 2 nominations
Don't Think Twice: 2 nominations
Hunt for the Wilderpeople: 2 nominations
Swiss Army Man: 2 nominations
Zootopia: 1 nomination
Deadpool: 1 nomination
Doctor Strange: 1 nomination
The Jungle Book: 1 nomination
The Lobster: 1 nomination
Sully: 1 nomination
Tale of Tales: 1 nomination
Toni Erdmann: 1 nomination
Weiner: 1 nomination
The Witch: 1 nomination