San Diego Film Critics 2021 Winners: ‘The Power of the Dog’ is Named Best Film

The Power of the Dog
Benedict Cumberbatch and Jesse Plemons in ‘The Power of the Dog’ (Photo Credit: KIRSTY GRIFFIN/NETFLIX © 2021)

Belfast topped the list of the San Diego Film Critics Society’s 2021 nominees with 12, but once the votes were tallied it was The Power of the Dog and Dune that led the list of winners. The Power of the Dog scored wins in the Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay categories. Dune‘s three wins came in the Best Cinematography, Sound Design, and Visual Effects categories.

Also collecting multiple wins were Mass, Parallel Mothers, and Belfast. The year’s only tie was between Parallel Mothers‘ Penelope Cruz and Belfast‘s Caitriona Balfe, with both talented actors earning Best Actress awards. Parallel Mothers also picked up Best Foreign Language Film honors while Belfast‘s Jude Hill was named the Best Youth Performance winner. Fran Kranz’s Mass script earned a Best Original Screenplay win. Jason Isaacs also picked up a win for Mass in the Best Supporting Actor category.

In addition, the San Diego Film Critics Society (of which I’m a member) recognized CODA, Last Night in Soho, Pig, Passing, Licorice Pizza, Luca, In the Heights, Nightmare Alley, and Cruella with awards during the January 10, 2022 voting session.

2021 SAN DIEGO FILM CRITICS SOCIETY NOMINEES AND WINNERS:

Best Picture:
RUNNER-UP: BELFAST
CODA
DUNE
MASS
WINNER: THE POWER OF THE DOG

Best Director:
RUNNER-UP: Kenneth Branagh, BELFAST
WINNER: Jane Campion, THE POWER OF THE DOG
Guillermo del Toro, NIGHTMARE ALLEY
Maggie Gyllenhaal, THE LOST DAUGHTER
Denis Villeneuve, DUNE

Best Actor:
WINNER: Nicolas Cage, PIG
Benedict Cumberbatch, THE POWER OF THE DOG
Peter Dinklage, CYRANO
RUNNER-UP: Andrew Garfield, TICK, TICK…BOOM!
Jude Hill, BELFAST

Best Actress:
WINNER (TIE): Caitriona Balfe, BELFAST
Olivia Colman, THE LOST DAUGHTER
WINNER (TIE): Penelope Cruz, PARALLEL MOTHERS
Emilia Jones, CODA
Kristen Stewart, SPENCER

Best Supporting Actor:
RUNNER-UP: Ben Affleck, THE TENDER BAR
Ciaran Hinds, BELFAST
WINNER: Jason Isaacs, MASS
Troy Kotsur, CODA
Kodi Smit-McPhee, THE POWER OF THE DOG

Best Supporting Actress:
Cate Blanchett, NIGHTMARE ALLEY
RUNNER-UP: Arian DeBose, WEST SIDE STORY
Ann Dowd, MASS
WINNER: Ruth Negga, PASSING
Martha Plimpton, MASS

Best Comedic Performance:
WINNER: Bradley Cooper, LICORICE PIZZA
Leonardo DiCaprio, DON’T LOOK UP
Jamie Dornan, BARB AND STAR GO TO VISTA DEL MAR
RUNNER-UP: David Harbour, BLACK WIDOW
Simon Rex, RED ROCKET

Best Youth Performance (Performers under the age of 16):
Mckenna Grace, GHOSTBUSTERS: AFTERLIFE
WINNER: Jude Hill, BELFAST
Daniel Ranieri, THE TENDER BAR
Saniyya Sidney, KING RICHARD
Demi Singleton, KING RICHARD

Best Original Screenplay:
Pedro Almodovar, PARALLEL MOTHERS
Kenneth Branagh, BELFAST
WINNER: Fran Kranz, MASS
Adam McKay, DON’T LOOK UP
Michael Sarnoski, PIG

Best Adapted Screenplay:
WINNER: Jane Campion, THE POWER OF THE DOG
Joel Coen, THE TRAGEDY OF MACBETH
Guillermo del Toro, Kim Morgan, NIGHTMARE ALLEY
Rebecca Hall, PASSING
Sian Heder, CODA

Best Documentary:
RUNNER-UP: FLEE
MY NAME IS PAULI MURRAY
WINNER: SUMMER OF SOUL
VAL
THE VELVET UNDERGROUND

Best Animated Film:
ENCANTO
RUNNER-UP: FLEE
WINNER: LUCA
THE MITCHELLS VS. THE MACHINES
RAYA AND THE LAST DRAGON

Best Foreign Language Film:
DRIVE MY CAR
RUNNER-UP: I’M YOUR MAN
LAMB
WINNER: PARALLEL MOTHERS
THE WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD

Best Editing:
RUNNER-UP: Úna Ní Dhonghalle, BELFAST
Paula Huidobro, CODA
WINNER: Myron Kerstein, IN THE HEIGHTS
Joshua L. Pearson, SUMMER OF SOUL
Joe Walker, DUNE

Best Cinematography:
Alice Brooks, IN THE HEIGHTS
RUNNER-UP: Bruno Delbonnel, THE TRAGEDY OF MACBETH
WINNER: Greig Fraser, DUNE
Dan Laustsen, NIGHTMARE ALLEY
Ari Wegner, THE POWER OF THE DOG

Best Production Design:
Jim Clay, BELFAST
WINNER: Tamara Deverell, NIGHTMARE ALLEY
Grant Major, THE POWER OF THE DOG
RUNNER-UP: Adam Stockhausen, Rena DeAngelo, THE FRENCH DISPATCH
Patrice Vermette, Richard Roberts, Zsuzsanna Sipos, DUNE

Best Visual Effects:
WINNER: DUNE
THE GREEN KNIGHT
NIGHTMARE ALLEY
SHANG-CHI AND THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS
SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME

Best Costumes:
WINNER: Jenny Beavan, CRUELLA
Odile Dicks-Mireaux, LAST NIGHT IN SOHO
RUNNER-UP: Antionette Messam, THE HARDER THEY FALL
Jacqueline West, Bob Morgan, DUNE
Janty Yates, HOUSE OF GUCCI

Best Sound Design:
Ethan Van der Ryn, Erik Adaahl, A QUIET PLACE PART II
Simon Chase, James Mather, BELFAST
WINNER: Theo Green, Dave Whitehead, DUNE
Nathan Robitaille, NIGHTMARE ALLEY
Dave Whitehead, THE POWER OF THE DOG

Best Use of Music:
BELFAST
CRUELLA
IN THE HEIGHTS
WINNER: LAST NIGHT IN SOHO
WEST SIDE STORY

Breakthrough Artist:
Alana Haim, LICORICE PIZZA
RUNNER-UP: Jude Hill, BELFAST
WINNER: Emilia Jones, CODA
Fran Kranz, MASS
Anthony Ramos, IN THE HEIGHTS

Best Ensemble:
WINNER: DON’T LOOK UP
DUNE
THE HARDER THEY FALL
RUNNER-UP: IN THE HEIGHTS
MASS