Detroit Film Critics do it their way

We're a little different in Detroit.

Oh sure, the mainstream flows through this area, but we also keep an eye out for the offbeat, the intriguing, the hidden gems in life.

For proof positive, you need look no further than this year's Detroit Film Critics Society's nominations for the best in film from 2014.

Yes, this year's usual suspects are represented. The indie sensation "Birdman" leads the pack with seven nominations out of 10 categories, followed by another indie sensation, "Boyhood," with six. These two excellent films are currently duking it out with film critics and awards groups across the nation, and the fight will probably rumble all the way to the Oscars.

But it's the rare (nonexistent?) critics group that nominates a movie like "Under the Skin" — an oblique story about an alien that dons human form — for any kind of award. It's just too weird.

The DFCS nominated "Under the Skin." Three times. For best picture, best director (Jonathan Glazer) and best actress (Scarlet Johansson).

Also off most everybody's radar was Tom Hardy's brilliant performance in the one-man-in-a-car movie "Locke." The DFCS passed on many far more obvious choice and nominated Hardy in the Best Actor category, where he'll go up against Michael Keaton ("Birdman"), Benedict Cumberbatch ("The Imitation Game"), Eddie Redmayne ("The Theory of Everything") and two more nominees you won't find on most lists — Brendon Gleeson for "Calvary" and Jake Gyllenhaal for "Nightcrawler."

And speaking of the creepy-dark "Nightcrawler," you can expect to see Patricia Arquette ("Boyhood"), Emma Stone ("Birdman") and Laura Dern ("Wild") on most Supporting Actress lists, but the DFCS also recognized Rene Russo's frightened-frightening performance alongside Gyllenhaal. On top of that, the DFCS honored Tilda Swinton's goggle-eyed, power-hungry supporting turn in "Snowpiercer." Take that, mainstream.

As for the idea that only grimly serious dramas are worthy of awards consideration, well, phooey on that. "Guardians of the Galaxy" landed two nominations, the mad killer flick "The Guest" earned a Breakthrough nom for star Dan Stevens, and the screwball comedy "The Grand Budapest Hotel" landed four nominations, including one for Best Picture.

It's not that the DFCS set out to be contrary. It's just that the perspective here is different from New York or L.A., where most of the seemingly endless awards are bestowed. Critics in this area — the DFCS is made up of film critics working within a 150-mile radius of Detroit — aren't as embroiled and embedded in the industry. Politics and cheap chumminess are kept out of the process; the only things that influence the choices are the films themselves.

So, if enough people think a movie in which Scarlet Johansson's body is inhabited by an alien is good, they'll vote for it, to heck with what's supposed to be cool or proper or more appropriate.

We're a little different in Detroit.

TLong@detroitnews.comtwitter.com/toomuchTomLong

The nominees are ...

The winners of the Detroit Film Critics Society's 2014 awards for best in film will be announced in Friday's On Screen section. The complete list of nominees:

Best Picture: "Boyhood," "Birdman," "The Grand Budapest Hotel," "Under the Skin," "Whiplash"

Best Director: Wes Anderson, "The Grand Budapest Hotel"; Damien Chazelle, "Whiplash"; Jonathan Glazer, "Under the Skin"; Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, "Birdman"; Richard Linklater, "Boyhood"

Best Actor: Benedict Cumberbatch, "The Imitation Game"; Brendan Gleeson, "Calvary"; Jake Gyllenhaal, "Nightcrawler"; Michael Keaton, "Birdman"; Tom Hardy, "Locke"; Eddie Redmayne, "The Theory of Everything"

Best Actress: Essie Davis, "The Babadook"; Scarlet Johansson, "Under the Skin"; Julianne Moore, "Still Alice"; Rosamund Pike, "Gone Girl"; Reese Witherspoon, "Wild"

Best Supporting Actor: Josh Brolin, "Inherent Vice"; Ethan Hawke, "Boyhood"; Edward Norton, "Birdman"; Mark Ruffalo, "Foxcatcher"; J.K. Simmons, "Whiplash"

Best Supporting Actress: Patricia Arquette, "Boyhood"; Laura Dern, "Wild"; Rene Russo, "Nightcrawler"; Emma Stone, "Birdman"; Tilda Swinton, "Snowpiercer"

Best Ensemble: "Birdman," "Boyhood," "Guardians of the Galaxy," "The Grand Budapest Hotel," "Into the Woods"

Breakthrough: Damien Chazelle, writer-director, "Whiplash"; Jennifer Kent, writer-director, "The Babadook"; Gugu Mbatha-Raw, actress, "Belle," "Beyond the Lights"; Chris Pratt, actor, "Guardians of the Galaxy"; Dan Stevens, actor, "The Guest"

Best Screenplay: Nicolas Giacobone and Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, "Birdman"; Richard Linklater, "Boyhood"; John Michael McDonagh, "Calvary"; Wes Anderson, "The Grand Budapest Hotel"; Damien Chazelle, "Whiplash"

Best Documentary: "Citizenfour," "Finding Vivian Maier," "Jodorowsky's Dune," "Keep On Keepin' On," "Life Itself"