Near the end of the New York Film Critics Circle Awards on Monday, January 5, Patricia Arquette could be found outside, bundled up in a winter coat and talking to friends who were huddled over their cigarettes. When asked if she found it difficult as a performer to socialize with reviewers of her work, she burst out laughing, her adorably crooked teeth flashing. “You’d think so,” she said. “But it’s actually lovely.”
Earlier in the week, the existence of critics’ awards had generated some online debate, especially after the National Society of Film Critics had deemed Jean-Luc Godard’s “Goodbye to Language” the year’s best picture – a selection that some deemed deliberately obscure. “I find the opinions of individual critics infinitely more interesting than their collective choices,” tweeted New York Times co-chief film critic A.O. Scott. “Voting is the opposite of criticism.” RogerEbert.com editor in chief Matt Zoller Seitz had chimed in, tweeting that one year he’d gone on a “crusade to abolish the [NY Film Critics Circle] awards dinner.”
Seitz, though not a voter in the 2014 awards, was in attendance at Monday’s dinner anyway, which speaks volumes. Given the cross purposes at which reviewers and filmmakers often find themselves during the rest of the year, it may be awkward to socialize for an evening. But it’s also quite fun. Continue Reading →