This morning saw the New York Film Critic's Circle fumble with Twitter, but finally announce their awards for 2012's best, marking the first critics' group to bestow their honors. Sometimes bucking against the tide ("The Accidental Tourist" and "Far From Heaven" are among past Best Feature winners), sometimes proving good precursors to the Academy (they matched Best Picture, Director, Actress and Foreign Language feature last year), it's generally deemed to be the first major precursor of awards season.
And if this is any indication, Kathryn Bigelow's "Zero Dark Thirty" could be the one to beat, with the true-story thriller nabbing Best Picture, Best Cinematography for Greig Fraser and Best Director. Also highly touted, Michael Haneke's "Amour" took Best Foreign Language Film a nice boost following its European Film Awards sweep this weekend. Among the surprises, for the first time in the 70+ year history of the organization, Best First Film went to a documentary, David France's excellent "How To Survive A Plague." A deserving winner, and a curveball, but a potential blow to the film many had predicted, "Beasts Of The Southern Wild." France's film didn't take a double prize, though, with the widely acclaimed "The Central Park Five" instead taking the Documentary award — perhaps not entirely surprisingly, given its subject matter.
More surprises came with the supporting category, with Sally Field for "Lincoln" and Matthew McConaughey (split between "Magic Mike" and "Bernie") both picking up awards to bolster their Academy campaigns, while the NYFCC made John Waters happy by giving Best Actress to Rachel Weisz for "The Deep Blue Sea." Full list below.
Best Picture – "Zero Dark Thirty"
Best New Director – TBD ("TBD")
Best Director – Kathryn Bigelow ("Zero Dark Thirty")
Best Actor – Daniel Day-Lewis ("Lincoln")
Best Actress – Rachel Weisz ("The Deep Blue Sea")
Best Foreign Language Film – "Amour"
Best Animated Film – "Frankenweenie"
Best Supporting Actor – Matthew McConaughey ("Magic Mike" & "Bernie")
Best Supporting Actress – Sally Field ("Lincoln")
Best Cinematography – Greig Fraser ("Zero Dark Thirty")
Best Non-Fiction Film – "The Central Park Five"
Best First Film – David France ("How To Survive A Plague")