The 1950s era lesbian drama Carol has won the New York Film Critics Circle Best Picture and with it three other wins: Best Director – Todd Haynes, Best Screenplay – Phylis Nagy and Best Cinematographer – Ed Lachman. Curiously, both of the film’s leads, Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara, were shut out of a win in the Lead and Supporting categories but that could have been a result of simply not being able to separate the two actresses and their performances. Director Todd Haynes has had quite a bit success with the NYFCC in the past; his 2002 housewife in the 1950s drama Far From Heaven also garnered him Best Picture and Best Director honors; only Martin Scorsese and Kathryn Bigelow have won two Director awards here. Curiously, that film did not win Best Actress (for Julianne Moore) either. Todd Haynes and Far From Heaven is the only Picture/Director wins at the NYFCC to be shut out of the Oscar race for both since 2000. Granted, that was a five-film Best Picture race so Carol and Haynes should have a better shot.
Brooklyn‘s Saoirse Ronan took the Best Actress award, making this year one of the New Yorkiest years ever for the NYFCC. It’s very likely her win was a result of a split between Blanchett and Mara with Ronan coming in with a consensus vote.
Theater actor Mark Rylance triumphed in Best Supporting Actor for Bridge of Spies, which many at AwardsWatch accurately predicted. He will likely be the only representation for the film during the critics races.
A huge shock came in the form of Michael Keaton winning Best Actor for Spotlight. We knew the film was likely to show up somewhere but since all of the performers in Spotlight are being pushed supporting a lead win here was quite a surprise. Maybe a makeup win for last year?
The other big surprise of the day, and a really great one, was Kristen Stewart winning Best Supporting Actress for Clouds of Sils Maria. The 2014 Cannes film was given an April 2015 release date in the U.S. and was seemingly all but forgotten. But Stewart also picked up a César award for this role (the French Oscar), the only American actress to ever win there. With Charlotte Rampling not showing up today (as many predicted) it might pay off for IFC Films to throw some cash towards a campaign for her. She was in the conversation this time last year for her supporting turn in Still Alice, which won Julianne Moore the Best Actress Oscar.
Here is the full list of NYFCC winners:
Best Picture
Carol
Best Director
Todd Haynes, Carol
Best Screenplay
Carol
Best Actor
Michael Keaton, Spotlight
Best Actress
Saoirse Ronan, Brooklyn
Best Supporting Actor
Mark Rylance, Bridge of Spies
Best Supporting Actress
Kristen Stewart, Clouds of Sils Maria
Best Animated Film
Inside Out
Best Foreign Film
Timbuktu
Best Non-Fiction Film
In Jackson Heights
Best Cinematographer
Ed Lachman, Carol
Best First Film
Son of Saul
SPECIAL AWARD #1: Posthumous Award honoring the legacy of William Becker and Janus Films
SPECIAL AWARD #2: Ennio Morricone, Composer
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UPDATE! The awesome Kyle Buchanan has revealed the runners-up for the NYFCC awards! Take a look…
Best Picture
1. Carol
2. Mad Max
3. Spotlight
Best Director
1. Todd Haynes
2. George Miller
Best Screenplay
1. Carol
2. Spotlight
Best Actress
1. Saoirse Ronan, Brooklyn
2. Cate Blanchett, Carol
3. Charlize Theron, Mad Max
Best Actor
1. Michael Keaton, Spotlight
2. Mark Ruffalo, Spotlight
3. Jacob Tremblay, Room
Best Supporting Actress
1. Kristen Stewart, Clouds of Sils Maria
2. Mya Taylor, Tangerine
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Kyle Buchanan @kylebuchanan
Do you guys want to know what ALMOST won at NYFCC?
Kyle Buchanan @kylebuchanan
MAD MAX was runner-up in the two biggest NYFCC categories, Picture and Director. The latter came especially close, I hear.
Kyle Buchanan @kylebuchanan
Who almost beat Michael Keaton for Best Actor at NYFCC? His SPOTLIGHT costar, Mark Ruffalo.
Kyle Buchanan @kylebuchanan
SPOTLIGHT also came close on Best Screenplay, and was right behind MAD MAX and CAROL for Best Picture.
Kyle Buchanan @kylebuchanan
And if Kristen Stewart hadn’t taken Best Supporting Actress, it could have been TANGERINE‘s Mya Taylor, who made a strong showing.
Kyle Buchanan @kylebuchanan
[In Best Actress] I heard Cate and Charlize were in the mix for that one
Kyle Buchanan @kylebuchanan
And the third threat in Best Actor was another supporting candidate, Jacob Tremblay[/box]
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"Theater actor Mark Rylance triumphed in Best Supporting Actor for Bridge of Spies, which many at AwardsWatch accurately predicted. He will likely be the only representation for the film during the critics races."
Bridge of Spies is universally loved. It is going to win a bunch of very well deserved honors including Best Picture, Director, Production Design, Cinematography and Screenplay. Tom Hanks deserves to win awards for his performance as well.