Indie Spirits Analysis

The Indie Spirit Awards accomplish several important things: besides putting the spotlight on deserving low-budget movies that may not have gotten the attention they deserved during the year, they also help to clue film critics around the country to movies that they may have missed, which in turn means that they may now turn up in their year-end ten-best lists and critics' groups awards.

These Indie Spirit nominations will also help several Oscar campaigns: Fox Searchlight gets a big boost for its Best Picture bid for Little Miss Sunshine, which got five nominations (the one sure thing will be Michael Arndt for Best Original Screenplay). Alan Arkin gets a little edge in the supporting actor category. ThinkFilm's push for Ryan Gosling for Best Actor now actually has a chance. And foreign films Days of Glory, The Lives of Others and Pan's Labyrinth (best feature, cinematography) got a much-needed push during a competitive year in that Oscar category.

Several worthy films that haven't been getting much traction may gain some momentum, including John Curran's period adaptation of W. Somerset Maugham's The Painted Veil, starring Spirit nominee Edward Norton and Naomi Watts (who was overlooked), and Karen Moncrieff's The Dead Girl, which features extraordinary performances by Spirit nominees Mary Beth Hurt and Marcia Gay Harden. Maybe 007 star Daniel Craig will change his mind about campaigning for his standout role as gay murderer Perry Smith in Infamous now that he's been nominated. I somehow doubt it.