For Your Consideration, Academy (The New York Times)

The New York Times's film critics offer their own nominations for the year's best.

BEST PICTURE

A. O. Scott:

Wall-E

Milk

Cadillac Records

Rachel Getting Married

Happy-Go-Lucky

Manohla Dargis:

The Dark Knight

Flight of the Red Balloon

Paranoid Park

Silent Light

Synecdoche, New York

Stephen Holden:

Wall-E

The Class

The Edge of Heaven

4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days

Happy-Go-Lucky

BEST DIRECTOR

A. O. Scott:

Gus Van Sant, Milk & Paranoid Park

David Fincher, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Arnaud Desplechin, A Christmas Tale

Kelly Reichardt, Wendy and Lucy

Mike Leigh, Happy-Go-Lucky

Manohla Dargis:

Gus Van Sant, Paranoid Park

Hou Hsiao-Hsien, Flight of the Red Balloon

Christopher Nolan, The Dark Knight

Kelly Reichardt, Wendy and Lucy

Stephen Holden:

Fatih Akin, The Edge of Heaven

Laurent Cantet, The Class

Cristian Mungiu, 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days

Andrew Stanton, Wall-E

BEST ACTOR

A. O. Scott:

Sean Penn, Milk

Richard Jenkins, The Visitor

Habib Boufares, The Secret of the Grain

Jeffrey Wright, Cadillac Records

Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler

Manohla Dargis:

Clint Eastwood, Gran Torino

Werner Herzog, Encounters at the End of the World

Philip Seymour Hoffman, Synecdoche, New York

Anders Danielsen Lie, Reprise

Espen Klouman-Hoiner, Reprise

Stephen Holden:

Sean Penn, Milk

Richard Jenkins, The Visitor

Francois Begaudeau, The Class

Javier Bardem, Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler

BEST ACTRESS

A. O. Scott:

Anne Hathaway, Rachel Getting Married

Michelle Williams, Wendy and Lucy

Sally Hawkins, Happy-Go-Lucky

Kristin Scott Thomas, I've Loved You So Long

Abigail Breslin, Kit Kittredge: An American Girl

Manohla Dargis:

Anne Hathaway, Rachel Getting Married

Michelle Williams, Wendy and Lucy

Sally Hawkins, Happy-Go-Lucky

Juliette Binoche, Flight of the Red Balloon

Asia Argento, Boarding Gate & The Last Mistress

Stephen Holden:

Anne Hathaway, Rachel Getting Married

Melissa Leo, Frozen River

Sally Hawkins, Happy-Go-Lucky

Kristin Scott Thomas, I've Loved You So Long

Asia Argento, The Last Mistress

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

A. O. Scott:

Tom Cruise, Tropic Thunder

Jean-Paul Roussillon, A Christmas Tale

Emile Hirsch, Milk

Eddie Marsan, Happy-Go-Lucky

Jeff Bridges, Iron Man

Manohla Dargis:

Ken Jacobs, Momma's Man

Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight

Benoit Magimel, A Girl Cut in Two

Eddie Marsan, Happy-Go-Lucky

Brad Pitt, Burn After Reading

Stephen Holden:

Mathieu Amalric, A Christmas Tale

Josh Brolin, Milk

Emile Hirsch, Milk

Eddie Marsan, Happy-Go-Lucky

Brad Pitt, Burn After Reading

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

A. O. Scott:

Rosemarie DeWitt, Rachel Getting Married

Hanna Schygulla, The Edge of Heaven

Hafsia Herzi, The Secret of the Grain

Catherine Deneuve, A Christmas Tale

Jeanne Moreau, One Day You'll Understand

Manohla Dargis:

Flo Jacobs, Momma's Man

Catherine Keener, Synecdoche, New York

Jennifer Jason Leigh, Synecdoche, New York

Samantha Morton, Synecdoche, New York

Michelle Williams, Synecdoche, New York

Stephen Holden:

Rosemarie DeWitt, Rachel Getting Married

Hanna Schygulla, The Edge of Heaven

Hiam Abbass, The Visitor

Penélope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Frances McDormand, Burn After Reading

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

A. O. Scott:

Cadillac Records, Darnell Martin

Synecdoche, New York, Charlie Kaufman

Wall-E, Andrew Stanton & Jim Reardon

Milk, Dustin Lance Black

The Edge of Heaven, Fatih Akin

Manohla Dargis:

Happy-Go-Lucky, Mike Leigh

Synecdoche, New York, Charlie Kaufman

A Christmas Tale, Arnaud Desplechin & Emmanuel Bourdieu

Waltz with Bashir, Ari Folman

Reprise, Joachim Trier & Eskil Vogt

Stephen Holden:

Happy-Go-Lucky, Mike Leigh

Frozen River, Courtney Hunt

Rachel Getting Married, Jenny Lumet

4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days, Cristian Mungiu

The Edge of Heaven, Fatih Akin

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

A. O. Scott:

The Class, Francois Begaudeau, Robin Campillo & Laurent Cantet

A Secret, Claude Miller & Natalie Carter

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Eric Roth

Slumdog Millionaire, Simon Beaufoy

Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist, Lorene Scafaria

Manohla Dargis:

The Class, Francois Begaudeau, Robin Campillo & Laurent Cantet

The Duchess of Langeais, Pascal Bonitzer & Christine Laurent

The Last Mistress, Catherine Breillat

Tell No One, Guillaume Canet & Philippe Lefebvre

Let the Right One In, John Ajvide Lindqvist

Stephen Holden:

The Class, Francois Begaudeau, Robin Campillo & Laurent Cantet

The Duchess of Langeais, Pascal Bonitzer & Christine Laurent

The Last Mistress, Catherine Breillat

Tell No One, Guillaume Canet & Philippe Lefebvre

The Reader, David Hare