It seems that critics on both coasts agree on the film Spotlight. Both the Los Angeles Film Critics Association and the Boston Society of Film Critics have named the investigative journalism drama the Best Film of the Year. The accolades from the Boston Society of Film Critics comes as a break from their online brethren, who voted Mad Max: Fury Road as their Best Picture.
In addition to awarding Spotlight the best film of the year, the two groups also awarded it with their respective Best Screenplay awards. Charlotte Rampling was named Best Actress for the dram 45 yearsby both groups, who also agreed that the examination of the life of singer Amy Winehouse Amy was the Best Documentary of the year.
However, that is pretty much where the two critics’ groups’ agreement ends. The LA critics named Mad Max: Fury Road‘s George Miller their Best Director while the Boston critics went with Todd Haynes for his drama Carol. The Boston critics split their Best Actor award between Leonardo DiCaprio and Paul Dano for their work on The Revenant and Love & Mercy respectively, while the LA critics gave their award to Michael Fassbender for Steve Jobs.
Here are the complete winners and runner-ups from both critics groups –
Boston Film Critics
Best Picture: Spotlight; Runner-up: Mad Max: Fury Road
Best Director: Todd Haynes (Carol); Runner-up: Tom McCarthy (Spotlight)
Best Actor: (TIE) Paul Dano (Love & Mercy) and Leonardo DiCaprio (The Revenant)
Best Actress: Charlotte Rampling (45 Years); Runner-up: Saoirse Ronan (Brooklyn)
Best Supporting Actor: Mark Rylance (Bridge of Spies); Runner-up: Sylvester Stallone (Creed)
Best Supporting Actress: Kristen Stewart (Clouds of Sils Maria); Runner-up: Alicia Vikander (unspecified)
Best Screenplay: Spotlight; Runner-up: Carol
Best Cinematography: Carol; Runner-up: The Revenant
Best Editing: Mad Max: Fury Road; Runner-up: Spotlight
Best Original Score: Love & Mercy; Runner-up: Creed
Best Ensemble Cast: Spotlight; Runner-up: The Big Short
Best Animated Film: (TIE) Anomalisa and Inside Out; Runner-up: Shaun the Sheep Movie
Best Foreign Film: The Look of Silence; Runner-up: White God
Best Documentary: Amy; Runner-up: The Look of Silence
Best New Filmmaker: Marielle Heller (The Diary of a Teenage Girl); Runner-up: Alex Garland, Ex Machina
Los Angeles Film Critics Association
Picture: Spotlight. Runner-up: Mad Max: Fury Road.
Director: George Miller, Mad Max: Fury Road. Runner-up: Todd Haynes, Carol.
Actor: Michael Fassbender, Steve Jobs. Runner-up: Géza Röhrig, Son of Saul.
Actress: Charlotte Rampling, 45 Years. Runner-up: Saoirse Ronan, Brooklyn.
Supporting actor: Michael Shannon, 99 Homes. Runner-up: Mark Rylance, Bridge of Spies.
Supporting actress: Alicia Vikander, Ex Machina. Runner-up: Kristen Stewart, Clouds of Sils Maria.
Screenplay: Josh Singer and Tom McCarthy, Spotlight. Runner-up: Charlie Kaufman, Anomalisa.
Animation: Anomalisa. Runner-up: Inside Out.
Foreign-language film: Son of Saul. Runner-up: The Tribe.
Documentary/nonfiction film: Amy. Runner-up: The Look of Silence.
New Generation: Ryan Coogler, Creed.
Film editing: Hank Corwin, The Big Short. Runner-up: Margaret Sixel, Mad Max: Fury Road.
Cinematography: John Seale, Mad Max: Fury Road. Runner-up: Edward Lachman, Carol.
Production design: Colin Gibson, Mad Max: Fury Road. Runner-up: Judy Becker, Carol.
Music score: Carter Burwell, Anomalisa and Carol. Runner-up: Ennio Morricone, The Hateful Eight.
Special citation: David Shepard, for his invaluable work in film preservation, particularly of movies from the silent era.
Lifetime achievement: Anne V. Coates
