With the hefty nominations count for Moonlight, I suspect the Chicago Film Critics will be heading that direction with their awards. Jackie finally has a strong showing while The Handmaiden also had a solid outing. The acting races are fairly unusual with plenty of familiar names missing while a lot of newer faces are making an appearance.

Nominations Tallies

(11) Moonlight
(8) Jackie, Manchester by the Sea
(7) La La Land
(6) The Handmaiden
(3) Arrival, Elle

The Nominations

Best Picture

The Handmaiden
Jackie
La La Land
Manchester by the Sea
Moonlight

Best Animated Film

Kubo and the Two Strings
Moana
The Red Turtle
Tower
Zootopia

Best Director

Damien Chazelle – La La Land
Barry Jenkins – Moonlight
Pablo Larraín – Jackie
Kenneth Lonergan – Manchester by the Sea
Chan-wook Park – The Handmaiden

Best Actor

Casey Affleck – Manchester by the Sea
Adam Driver – Paterson
Joel Edgerton – Loving
Colin Farrell – The Lobster
Denzel Washington – Fences

Best Actress

Amy Adams – Arrival
Rebecca Hall – Christine
Isabelle Huppert – Elle
Natalie Portman – Jackie
Emma Stone – La La Land

Best Supporting Actor

Mahershala Ali – Moonlight
Alden Ehrenreich – Hail, Caesar!
Ben Foster – Hell or High Water
Lucas Hedges – Manchester by the Sea
Trevante Rhodes – Moonlight
Michael Shannon – Nocturnal Animals

Best Supporting Actress

Viola Davis – Fences
Lily Gladstone – Certain Women
Naomie Harris – Moonlight
Janelle Monae – Hidden Figures
Michelle Williams – Manchester by the Sea

Best Original Screenplay

Hell or High Water – Taylor Sheridan
Jackie – Noah Oppenheim
The Lobster – Yorgos Lanthimos & Efthymis Filippou
Manchester by the Sea – Kenneth Lonergan
Moonlight – Barry Jenkins

Best Adapted Screenplay

Arrival – Eric Heisserer
Elle – David Birke
The Handmaiden – Seo-Kyung Chung & Chan-wook Park
Love and Friendship – Whit Stillman
Silence – Jay Cocks & Martin Scorsese

Best Original Score

Arrival – Jóhann Jóhannsson
Jackie – Mica Levi
La La Land – Justin Hurwitz
Moonlight – Nicholas Britell
The Neon Demon – Cliff Martinez

Best Editing

Cameraperson – Nels Bangerter
Jackie – Sebastián Sepúlveda
La La Land – Tom Cross
Manchester by the Sea – Jennifer Lame
Moonlight – Joi McMillon & Nat Sanders

Best Cinematography

The Handmaiden – Chung-hoon Chung
Jackie – Stéphane Fontaine
La La Land – Linus Sandgren
Moonlight – James Laxton
Silence – Rodrigo Prieto

Best Art Direction

The Handmaiden
Jackie
La La Land
The Neon Demon
The Witch

Best Foreign Film

Elle
The Handmaiden
Julieta
Neruda
Toni Erdmann

Best Documentary

Cameraperson
Life, Animated
OJ: Made In America
Tower
Weiner

Most Promising Performer

Lily Gladstone – Certain Women
Lucas Hedges – Manchester by the Sea
Royalty Hightower – The Fits
Janelle Monae – Hidden Figures, Moonlight
Trevante Rhodes – Moonlight

Most Promising Filmmaker

Kelly Fremon Craig – The Edge of Seventeen
Robert Eggers – The Witch
Anna Rose Holmer – The Fits
Travis Knight – Kubo and the Two Strings
Trey Edward Shults – Krisha

Chicago Film Critics Data

Year Founded: 1990
First Awards: 1988 (29)