"Zero Dark Thirty" might have cleaned up at many of the critics' awards so far (and continued to dominate year-end awards and lists over the weekend for the most part), but it's not been allowed to have a total sweep of the groups, thanks to the Los Angeles Film Critics. The LAFCAs were given out today (in fact, they're still going on, into hour six…), and the West Coast writers elected to give their top prize to Michael Haneke's "Amour."
In fact, "Zero Dark Thirty" was almost shut out altogether, bar Best Editing (the first time the LAFCA have given that award), and a runner up for Kathryn Bigelow in Best Director. "The Master," so far neglected by the critics groups, did very well, with awards for Paul Thomas Anderson, Joaquin Phoenix, Amy Adams, and runner up in Best Film. "Silver Linings Playbook" won Best Actress for Jennifer Lawrence (shared with Emanuelle Riva for "Amour"), and was the runner up in the screenplay award (won by "Argo"), while "Beasts of the Southern Wild" picked up three awards — Supporting Actor for Dwight Henry, a breakthrough award for director Benh Zeitlin, and a well-deserved nod for the music. "Holy Motors" also took Best Foreign Film, with Denis Lavant placing second in the Best Actor race.
Elsewhere in the critics world, the Boston Film Critics stuck with the narrative and gave Film and Director to "Zero Dark Thirty," with Daniel Day-Lewis and Emmanuelle Riva winning the acting category, with Sally Field and, in something of a surprise, Ezra Miller in the supporting categories. The New York Online Film Critics went almost exactly the same way, though gave their supporting prizes to Tommy Lee Jones and Anne Hathaway instead.
"Zero Dark Thirty" also took the top slot in the Washington Post's list of the best films of the year (topping "Lincoln," "The Waiting Room," "Monsieur Lazhar" and "Middle of Nowhere"), so it's keeping up the critical consensus in a big way despite losing the LAFCA loss (and that hardly happened in a vacuum — plumping away from it definitely seems like a reactive move in many ways). What does this mean for the awards season in general? Not an awful lot, though Emmanuelle Riva's three victories makes her Oscar nod more and more likely, and "The Master" 's hopes needed this boost in order to stay in the race. Check out the complete list of winners from all three groups below, and check back later in the week for SAG and Golden Globe nominations.
LA Film Critics Awards
Best Picture – "Amour" (Runner Up: "The Master")
Best Director: Paul Thomas Anderson, "The Master" (RU: Kathryn Bigelow, "Zero Dark Thirty")
Best Actress: Tie: Jennifer Lawrence, "Silver Linings Playbook," Emmanuelle Riva, "Amour"
Best Actor: Joaquin Phoenix, "The Master" (RU: Denis Lavant, "Holy Motors")
Best Screenplay – Chris Terrio, "Argo" (RU: David O. Russell, "Silver Linings Playbook")
Best Supporting Actress – Amy Adams, "The Master" (RU: Anne Hathaway, "The Dark Knight Rises" & "Les Misérables")
Best Supporting Actor – Dwight Henry, "Beasts Of The Southern Wild (RU: Christoph Waltz, "Django Unchained")
Best Foreign Language Film – "Holy Motors" (RU: "Footnote")
Best Cinematography – "Skyfall" (RU: "The Master")
Best Editing "Zero Dark Thirty" (RU: "Argo")
Best Documentary – "The Gatekeepers (RU: "Searching For Sugar Man")
Best Animation – "Frankenweenie" (RU: "It's Such A Beautiful Day")
Best Music/Score – "Beasts Of The Southern Wild" (RU: "The Master")
Best Production Design – "The Master" (RU: "Moonrise Kingdom")
New Generation Award: Benh Zeitlin, "Beasts Of The Southern Wild"
Boston Film Critics Awards
Best Picture – "Zero Dark Thirty" (Runner up: "Moonrise Kingdom"/"Amour")
Best Director – Kathryn Bigelow, "Zero Dark Thirty" (RU: Paul Thomas Anderson, "The Master")
Best Screenplay – Tony Kushner, "Lincoln" (RU: Wes Anderson, "Moonrise Kingdom")
Best Actor – Daniel Day-Lewis, "Lincoln" (RU: Denis Lavant, "Holy Motors")
Best Actress – Emmanuelle Riva, "Amour" (RU: Deanie Yip, "A Simple Life")
Best Supporting Actor – Ezra Miller, "The Perks Of Being A Wallflower" (RU Christoph Waltz, "Django Unchained")
Best Supporting Actress – Sally Field, "Lincoln" (RU: Emma Watson, "The Perks Of Being A Wallflower")
Best Ensemble: "Seven Psychopaths" (RU: "Moonrise Kingdom")
Best Animated Film: "Frankenweenie" (RU: "ParaNorman")
Best Documentary: "How To Survive A Plague" (RU: "The Queen Of Versailles")
Best New Filmmaker – David France, "How To Survive A Plague" (RU: Benh Zeitlin, "Beasts of the Southern Wild")
Best Editing – "Zero Dark Thirty" (RU: "Argo")
Best Cinematography – "The Master" (RU: "Life Of Pi," "Moonrise Kingdom")
Best Use Of Music – "Moonrise Kingdom" (RU: "Django Unchained")
New York Film Critics Online Awards
Best Picture – "Zero Dark Thirty"
Best Ensemble – "Argo"
Best Director – Kathryn Bigelow, "Zero Dark Thirty"
Best Actor – Daniel Day-Lewis, "Lincoln"
Best Actress – Emmanuelle Riva, "Amour"
Best Supporting Actor – Tommy Lee Jones, "Lincoln"
Best Supporting Actress – Anne Hathaway, "Les Misérables"
Debut Director – Benh Zeitlin, "Beasts Of The Southern Wild"
Best Use Of Music – "Django Unchained"
Best Cinematography – "LIfe Of PI"
Best Screenplay – "Zero Dark Thirty"
Breakthrough Performance – Quvenzhané Wallis, "Beasts Of The Southern Wild"
