It’s probably best for both the mental and physical health of filmmakers and critics that they don’t frequently congregate in the same places. But on Saturday night, they coexisted amicably, even joyfully, at the 48th Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards in a ballroom at the Biltmore hotel in downtown Los Angeles.
The evening was off with a reel of videos showcasing each of the 2022 honorees of the LAFCA, who were revealed in December. People laughed during Cate Blanchett’s breakdown sequence in Tár, which won best actress, cried after seeing a passage from best picture not in English language winner EO, and cheered along to RRR’s “Naatu Naatu” musical number, which won best music/score.
All of the acceptance speeches were succinct and kind. One of the three people who, along with his father and his cousin, RRR director S. S. Rajamouli, had the greatest influence on M.M. Keeravani’s life, he said, was “John Williams,” who composed the score for the 1975 film Jaws. Keeravani, who also wrote the song “Naatu Naatu,” credited Williams with “teaching me the lesson of simplicity and humility.”
