'Beale Street' tops Spirit Awards, Close wins best actress

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Two years after his “Moonlight” triumphed on the eve of the Oscars, Barry Jenkins’ adaptation of the James Baldwin novel “If Beale Street Could Talk” on Saturday topped the 34th Film Independent Spirit Awards, winning best film, best director and best supporting female for Regina King.

The Spirit Awards, always a casual, oceanside preamble to Sunday's Academy Awards, featured a few things the Oscars don't have: a host (actress Aubrey Plaza) and female filmmaker nominees, including Tamara Jenkins ("Private Life"), Debra Granik ("Leave No Trace") and Lynne Ramsey ("You Were Never Really Here").

But as much as the afternoon belonged to women, Jenkins' lyrical period drama emerged the biggest winner two years after his "Moonlight" won at the Spirits and (despite a touch of trouble with the envelopes) at the Oscars. Given his fellow nominees, even Jenkins was sheepish about it.

Glenn Close accepts the Best Female Lead award for "The Wife" onstage with her dog Pip during the 2019 Film Independent Spirit Awards in Santa Monica, California, February 23, 2019. /VCG Photo

"I'm not gonna lie, man," said Jenkins accepting the directing award. "I didn't want to win this."

Jenkins used his speech to instead largely urge more movies to be made with female directors and specifically credited the Scottish filmmaker Ramsey — who encouraged Jenkins as a film student — for inspiration. "This award has your DNA in it," Jenkins said.

"Leave No Trace" and "You Were Never Really Here" won other awards, though. "You Were Never Really Here" won for its editing. Granik was honored with the Spirits' second annual Bonnie Award, a grant for mid-career female directors. The audience gave her a standing ovation.

Director Debra Granik accepts the Bonnie Award during the 2019 Film Independent Spirit Awards ceremony at Santa Monica, California, U.S., February 23, 2019. /VCG Photo

"I wasn't expecting such a love bomb," said a clearly moved Granik.

A day before many expect her to finally win her first Academy Award, best female lead went to Glenn Close for her performance in "The Wife." Close was accompanied everywhere by her loyal white Havanese dog Pip: on the awards' "blue carpet," on stage with her, and backstage speaking to reporters.

This year's Spirits included fewer Oscar contenders than usual, which meant a chance, as Plaza said, for the Spirits to get back to their roots and honor "the movies that are too good to be seen."

Amanda Seyfried speaks onstage during the 2019 Film Independent Spirit Awards in Santa Monica, California, February 23, 2019. /VCG Photo

Their best-picture winner has often predicted Oscar-winners, including "Moonlight," "Spotlight," "Birdman" and "12 Years a Slave." But last year Jordan Peele's "Get Out" took the Spirits' top honor before Guillermo del Toro's "The Shape of Water" won at the Academy Awards. This year, "Beale Street" is nominated for three Oscars but not best picture.

The Spirit Awards limit nominees to films with budgets of 20 million U.S. dollars and under, eliminating bigger budget contenders like "Black Panther" and "A Star Is Born." They also focus on American movies, limiting Oscar nominees like "Roma" and "The Favourite" to the best international film category — which Alfonso Cuaron's "Roma" won.

Ethan Hawke won best male lead for "First Reformed," an award collected for the absent actor by his co-star, Amanda Seyfried.

(Top Photo: (L-R) Barry Jenkins, Brian Tyree Henry, Kiki Layne, and Regina Hall, winners of Best Feature for "If Beale Street Could Talk," pose during the 2019 Film Independent Spirit Awards in Santa Monica, California, February 23, 2019. /VCG Photo)

Source(s): AP