The Los Angeles Film Critics Association can't be hassled to choose between Gravity and Her

By Sean O'Neal | December 9, 2013 | 8:11pm

Aux Features Film

Ensuring that no geographical assemblage of opinion goes unrepresented in the year’s movie race, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association has finally weighed in a week after their counterparts in New York, owing to the time difference. And because things are a little more laidback out west, L.A. saw no reason to choose just one best feature winner, instead suggesting that Gravity and Her should just be chill and share it. So both films took the top honor—though Gravity edged out Her in total awards, what with its many technical achievements. If only Spike Jonze had thought to have Joaquin Phoenix’s Scarlett Johansson-voiced digital assistant lover transform into a giant robot, then take him on an exciting journey beyond the stars, it might have had a shot at a cleaner sweep.

Gravity and Her weren’t alone in asking the L.A. critics to make up their minds, only to have them just sort of blow it off: They also split best actress honors among Blue Jasmine’s Cate Blanchett and Blue Is The Warmest Color’s Adele Exarchopoulos, and divvied up Best Supporting Actor among Dallas Buyers Club’s Jared Leto and Spring Breakers’ James Franco (no doubt based on the performance’s strong endorsement by local critic James Franco). Those who made it out with more than just half of a hastily buzzsawed trophy included Nebraska’s Bruce Dern, 12 Years A Slave’s Lupita Nyong’o, and Before Midnight’s screenwriting team Richard Linklater, Ethan Hawke, and Julie Delpy, who will put their award on the nightstand by their bed.