Second Round of Critics' Awards: Consensus Forming (Kind Of)

The Boston, Los Angeles and New York Online critics all revealed the winners of their awards today. This follows the announcements from the National Board of Review, New York Film Critics Circle and the Gotham Awards.

There's no one film that's dominating the Best Picture prizes in the way that "Boyhood" did last year, but it's worth noting that "Carol" cleaned up with the NYFCC, and "Mad Max" is finding wide support despite being a summer film. If there's anything these critics prizes are telling us, it's that there's a lot of love for a lot of different films. It's still anyone's game to win at this point.

Take a look at the winners from all three groups below.


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 and Mercy" & 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 for which film/role she won for])
Best Screenplay: "Spotlight" (Runner Up- "Carol")
Best Cinematography: "Carol" (Runner Up- "The Revenant")
Best Editing: "Mad Max" (Runner Up- "Mad Max")
Best Original Score: "Love & Mercy" (Runner Up- "Creed")
Best Ensemble Cast: "Spotlight" (Runner Up- "The Big Short")
Best Animated Film: TIE- "Anomolisa" & "Inside Out"
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")

"Spotlight" winning here was expected, seeing the film is steeped in Boston's history. Paul Dano is seriously on a roll here with these Best Actor prizes, and I think it would be wise for the team behind "Love & Mercy" to switch his Supporting campaign to a Lead one, given the latter's weakness this year. This also marks DiCaprio's first precursor win, in an otherwise divisive response to "The Revenant."

Kristen Stewart is also cleaning up with the awards. Her win here, with the NYFCC, and a runner up mention from the Los Angeles critics is a pretty big deal. She also made history as the first American actress to win a French Oscar for the same performance. I think if she were to start making rounds, she could land a nomination in the same way Marion Cotillard did last year. Being the critics' favorite sometimes really helps.

That mention for Saoirse Ronan is very important. She has a win with the NYFCC, and was a runner up here. Rampling's Oscar chances are considerably lower than Ronan's, so this is yet another gust of wind in her sails. Seriously, if Brie Larson's campaign doesn't rev up soon, Ronan could be our winner. "Brooklyn" is doing gangbusters at the box office and has a 99% on Rotten Tomatoes, after all.



New York Film Critics Online: 
Best Picture: "Spotlight"
Best Director: Tom McCarthy, "Spotlight"
Best Actor: Paul Dano, "Love & Mercy" (Runner Up- Johnny Depp, "Black Mass")
Best Actress: Brie Larson, "Room" (Runner Up- Saoirse Ronan, "Brooklyn")
Best Supporting Actress: Rooney Mara, "Carol" (Runner Up- Kate Winslet, "Steve Jobs")
Best Supporting Actor: Mark Rylance, "Bridge of Spies" (Runner Up- Mark Ruffalo, "Spotlight")
Breakthrough Performance: Alicia Vikander, "The Danish Girl" & "Ex-Machina"
Best Use of Music: "Love & Mercy"
Best Ensemble Cast: "Spotlight"
Best Animated Feature: "Inside Out" (Runner Up- "Anomolisa")
Best Documentary: "Amy" (Runner Up: "The Look Of Silence"
Best Foreign Language Feature: "Son Of Saul" (Runner Up- "Mustang)
Top 10 Films:

• "45 Years"
• "The Big Short"
• "Bridge of Spies"
• "Brooklyn"
• "Carol"
• "Mad Max: Fury Road"
• "Sicario"
• "Spotlight"
• "Steve Jobs"
• "Trumbo"

This marks the first supporting trophy Mara has won all season. It's a deserved win, but again, in the wrong category; SHE IS A LEAD CHARACTER (!!!!). Also worth mentioning, Larson edged out against Ronan, who currently has the heat in terms of a winner. I wouldn't say this means Larson is suddenly ahead, but it doesn't hurt. Ronan's name popping up anywhere, however, is just more gas in the tank of her campaign. 

Los Angeles Film Critics: 

Best Picture: "Spotlight" (Runner Up- "Mad Max")

Best Actress: Charlotte Rampling, "45 Years" (Runner Up: Saoirse Ronan, "Brooklyn")

Best Director: George Miller, "Mad Max: Fury Road" (Runner Up: Todd Haynes, "Carol")

Best Actor: Michael Fassbender, "Steve Jobs" (Runner Up: Geza Röhrig, "Son Of Saul")

Best Supporting Actress: Alicia Vikander, "Ex-Machina" (Runner Up- Kristen Stewart, "Clouds of Sils Maria")

Best Supporting Actor: Michael Shannon, "99 Homes" (Runner Up- Mark Rylance, "Bridge of Spies")

Best Production Design: "Mad Max: Fury Road" (Runner Up- "Carol")

Best Cinematography: "Mad Max: Fury Road" (Runner Up- "Carol")

Best Editing: "The Big Short"(Runner Up- "Mad Max: Fury Road")

Best Score: Carter Burwell, "Carol" & "Anomolisa" (Runner Up- "The Hateful Eight")

Best Documentary: "Amy"

Best Screenplay: "Spotlight" (Runner Up: "Anomolisa")

Best Animation: "Anomolisa" (Runner Up: "Inside Out")

Best Foreign Language Film: "Son of Saul" 

New Generation Award: Ryan Coogler, "Creed"

I'm really shocked they didn't hand their trophy to "Mad Max", but the below the line support for is really important. People don't just like it or respect it, they love it. And that goes a long way for Oscars. Maybe it's not so much of a long shot as people are thinking? As for "Spotlight," this is a much more populist choice than we're used to with the LAFCA, but if anyone was doubting its frontrunner status, now's the time to start wising up. Peaking too soon might ultimately be a detriment, however.

Interesting that Alicia Vikander won for "Ex-Machina" without a mention of "The Danish Girl." The LAFCA are notoriously independent, however; They vote for what they like, not where the consensus is. I actually love Vikander in the film (I haven't seen "The Danish Girl" yet) so I'm thrilled she got a mention here. She'll undoubtedly be nominated for "The Danish Girl" if she does manage a nomination, though. And again, another mention for Kristen Stewart. Seriously, if she started campaigning and the distributors started screening the film or putting it back in theaters, she could get nominated.

This win for Charlotte Rampling is major, who needs the extra heat to break through the ingenue heavy Best Actress category. I think it's between her and Blythe Danner for the final slot, though Rampling has more buzz behind her. But again, there's Saoirse Ronan taking the runner up position. (Aside: Very saddened that neither Kiki Rodriguez or Mya Taylor could snag a mention here, the LAFCA are usually much less mainstream with their choices). 

While the win for Michael Fassbender is a huge gust of wind in his campaign's sails, I don't know if it's enough. If SAG and the Globes go for him, however, I say he's in.