My final ballot for this year...

Best Picture
Elephant

Chilling, heartbreaking and fascinating. A world apart from most of the movies I saw last year. Truly the greatest accomplishment of 2003.
Kill Bill Vol. 1

Just the most intense and enjoyable movie experience of the year for me. Kept all of its power with repeat viewings—blessed with Tarantino’s superb craft and exuberance as well as one of the most commanding performances of the year.
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

A remarkable end to what has been an amazing saga. Dwarfs almost every other film released this year in both epic scope and intimate emotion. Something to be remembered forever.
Lost In Translation

Charming and surprisingly memorable. A film that doesn’t leave your side—Murray and Johansson’s wonderful relationship buries into your head and sticks there.
Master & Commander: The Far Side of the World

Billed wrongly as an action adventure, it’s a perfectly done study of life at sea, with Crowe and Bettany playing off of each other brilliantly and some amazing set-pieces.

Honourable Mentions: Mystic River, The Magdalene Sisters, To Be and To Have, City of God

Best Director
Peter Jackson, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

For bringing his own personal touch to such a grand epic and translating an ‘unflilmable’ novel perfectly onto the screen.
Fernando Meirelles, City of God

For directing such a remarkable ensemble cast of amateur actors as well as infecting the film with a vibrant life few others have.
Gus Van Sant, Elephant

For bringing this masterpiece, his own brainchild, to the screen, and doing it flawlessly.
Quentin Tarantino, Kill Bill Vol. 1

For rewarding this patient Quentin-head with something beyond even his anticipation. The film has his fingerprints all over it, and it never misses a beat.
Peter Weir, Master & Commander: The Far Side of the World

For delivering a very involving, very intimate but often thrilling film. Once again surprising me with something completely different yet still keeping his own personal touch.

Honourable Mentions: Clint Eastwood (Mystic River), Sofia Coppola (Lost In Translation), Peter Mullan (The Magdalene Sisters)

Best Actor
Johnny Depp, Pirates of the Caribbean

He owned the screen whenever he was on and made me laugh whenever he made even the slightest gesture. Definitely one of the most memorable performances of the year—destined to be remembered for a long time.
Paul Giametti, American Splendor

Funny and sympathetic, he totally got into what made Harvey what he was. Could have just been grumpy and whiny, but he fleshed Pekar into the three-dimensional character he deserved to be.
Jude Law, Cold Mountain

Makes his transformations and hardships believable and tragic. Owned the screen in a quiet but transfixing performance. The best actor among a group of great actors.
Bill Murray, Lost In Translation

Without him, the movie would have been nothing—was the total lynchpin. Beautifully subtle but very, very funny.
Sean Penn, Mystic River

Powerful and utterly dominant. Could not help but out-act anyone he was onscreen with. A grandiose performance, yes, but a simply remarkable one too.

Honourable Mentions: Russell Crowe (Master & Commander), Colin Farrell (Phone Booth), Jack Black (School of Rock)

Best Actress
Keisha Castle-Hughes, Whale Rider

Both believable and astonishing. Loveable all the way through but really gets you at the end. An amazing job that really sticks in the mind.
Romola Garai, I Capture The Castle

In a very fluffy part, she was beautifully nuanced and really quite charming. Never slipped up for a second—one to watch.
Scarlett Johansson, Lost In Translation

Had wonderful chemistry with Murray. Had an air of experience beyond her years. Succeeded in holding her own against Murray’s virtuoso performance.
Uma Thurman, Kill Bill Vol. 1

Utterly brilliant and simply unstoppable. Never for a second did you doubt how fearsome she was. A film like this needed a performance to really take hold of the screen and stand out in the movie-universe Tarantino had created—she does it and more.
Evan Rachel Wood, Thirteen

Raw and believable, whatever problems with the script there might be. Made herself the talking point instead of the brutality of the film and managed to keep Tracy sympathetic to the audience.

Honourable Mentions: Diane Keaton (Something's Gotta Give) Naomi Watts (21 Grams), Charlotte Rampling (Swimming Pool)

Best Supporting Actor
Kevin Bacon, Mystic River

In a film filled with powerhouses, stood out nevertheless with a much quieter yet still affecting role, once again sadly overlooked by critics and award bodies. A welcome reminder he can play more than psychos.
Paul Bettany, Master & Commander

Easily stood up to Crowe’s domineering performance and had all of the best scenes in the film. A fully realised character, perfectly played—and that surgery scene was just excellent.
Billy Boyd, LOTR: ROTK

The surprise of the year for me. I’d always enjoyed his performance but he really came into his own here. Maybe it was the pairing of him and McKellen, but he was the real ROTK standout for me. Props also to Sean Astin and Andy Serkis for their performances.
Benicio Del Toro, 21 Grams

In a jumbled movie, and with a very clichéd role, Del Toro managed to emerge from the film with a masterful portrayal. He inspired true sympathy in me as well as being the most interesting thing about the film. All of his scenes were perfectly done. Reminded me how he can really pull out the stops if necessary.
Tim Robbins, Mystic River

A haunting performance from a truly unappreciated actor. Not as I imagined him in the book, maybe, but he made the role his own and had some wonderful moments. The ‘vampire’ speech is often referenced but really was excellent.

Honourable Mentions: Sean Astin, Andy Serkis (LOTR), Bill Nighy (Love Actually, I Capture The Castle, Lawless Heart)

Best Supporting Actress
Hope Davis, American Splendor

Very, very funny and watchable performance. Worked perfectly with Giametti—that they were perfect for each other was clear from early on. Very convincingly done.
Marcia Gay Harden, Mystic River

Another sterling performance from a wonderful ensemble—I felt she perfectly captured the character of Celeste. Her final scene at the parade was particularly heartbreaking.
Holly Hunter, Thirteen

Simply outstanding, perfectly conveying unconditional love for her children mixed with horror and hopelessness as Tracy slips away. Heart-rending.
Emma Thompson, Love Actually

In such a mediocre film, Thompson shone like no other, with a truly powerful performance mixed in with all the clichéd twaddle and OTT scene-stealers. Her grief as she discovers her husband’s affair was what kept me watching.
Renée Zellweger, Cold Mountain

So scene-stealing that she basically made Nicole Kidman into a supporting player for most of the film, Renée really was at her best in years here. She carried herself completely differently, turning Ruby into a real character even if she was a bit of a ham.

Honourable Mentions: Melissa Leo (21 Grams), Natalie Portman (Cold Mountain), Sarah Paulson (Down With Love)

Best Original Screenplay
Sofia Coppola, Lost In Translation

Minimalist but perfectly judged. A fantastic job.
Peter Mullan, The Magdalene Sisters

A sadly underappreciated film. Mullan did a great job directing and writing this film. Very brutal but well done and realistic.
Bob Peterson, David Reynolds, Andrew Stanton, Finding Nemo

Formulaic but VERY funny at times and awfully sweet. Another great Pixar job.
Quentin Tarantino, Kill Bill Vol. 1

Perhaps less ‘witty’ than his previous scripts but each line feels perfect. Nothing is out of place.
Mike White, The School of Rock

Again formulaic but very, very funny and totally excised of corniness. Some great lines for Jack Black.

Honourable Mentions: Elephant, The Lawless Heart, Down With Love

Best Adapted Screenplay
Shari Springer Bergman, Robert Pulcini, American Splendor

A very original adaptation indeed. Funny and different, as well as a great representation of what the comics were about.
Phillipa Boyens, Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, LOTR: ROTK

Another excellent adaptation of the un-adaptable. The Lord of the Rings screenplay work is often overlooked, but it’s well-flowing and steers clear of being excessively camp.
Niki Caro, Whale Rider

Efficient and heartfelt without relying on too many tearjerker moments. Mixes modern life with the tribal days now passing well.
Brian Helgeland, Mystic River

A clean adaptation sticking to the book quite closely, remaining true to the spirit and themes without dragging on for too long.
Anthony Minghella, Cold Mountain

A big improvement on the book, in my opinion. Fully got across the themes Minghella was trying to convey, and flowed between stories very well.

Honourable Mentions: Master & Commander, City of God, X-Men 2

Elephant
dir. Gus Van Sant
Last year's Palme D'Or winner, Gus Van Sant's Elephant, begins with a blank stare up at the sky. This shot defines the nature of the film: watching, seemingly aimlessly, not an explanation but rather a presentation. Harris Savides' camera floats fluidly through a normal high school on a normal day, presenting us with mere snippets of various teenagers' normal activities. There's not enough for us to get a full sense of their characters, but with each vignette we understand a little bit more about them, enough to introduce the vaguest of attachments to them all. A viewer with no idea of the film's story might be questioning the point of the entire exercise, until a scene a little more than half an hour in, where one of the characters comes across two youths clad in military gear and with packed bags over their shoulders, warning him to stay away. It's then that we fully realise that this ordinary day is about to be interrupted by something unexpected, shocking and horrifying. Van Sant doesn't cut back to this scene until much later in the film, instead returning to following the various teenagers around the school--except now everything is burdened with an almost unbearable tension and sadness, knowing what is about to befall them all. As the different characters (played entirely by untrained amateur actors, their performances adding to the heartbreaking sense of dreamy realism) wander around taking pictures, stacking library shelves, participate in a class discussion or wait to be chided by the principal, Van Sant builds up the sense of proleptic tragedy until the final shocking last half hour, disturbing not because of extreme graphic violence (a tired standby the film thankfully doesn't resort to) but the emptiness surrounding not only the killers but the depiction of the event itself. Van Sant strips the event of any theatricality or melodrama, Savides' camera instead looking starkly on as the inexplicable horror tears through the school and through the lives of everyone involved. This is another magnificent strength of the film: Van Sant does not seek to explain away the actions of the killers as many did after the actual Columbine killings (the event the film is based upon). We see one of them playing a violent video game; they sit and watch an old documentary on Hitler for a few minutes (although one of them seems to barely know who Hitler is); in another scene one of them is bullied by the rest of his class; finally, on the morning before they go to the school, the two share a kiss in the shower. These brief snatches of time cannot be interpreted as legitimately full reasons for their actions: indeed, Van Sant himself says the film's title is taken from the ancient parable of several blind men each examining various parts of an elephant, and each coming away with different ideas on what the creature is based on what they touched, none seeing the whole. This is Van Sant's achievement: he refuses to give us an easy reason for these events--he just watches, mesmerisingly yet non-judgmentally. Elephant is affecting, tense, powerful and sticks uncomfortably in the mind long after exiting the cinema. Truly the finest achievement of 2003.
*****