Boston Society of Film Critics Announce 2015 Prizes

Call it a home court advantage as Spotlight took top honors at the annual Boston Society of Film Critics Awards. The awards favorite directed and co-written by Tom McCarthy (The Station Agent) centers around the 2001 Pulitzer Prize winning investigation of sex abuse in the Catholic Church by the Boston Globe; the critically acclaimed title seemed a no-brainer for Beantown critics.

The film- which stars Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo and Rachel McAdams also took the prize for Best Screenplay and Best Ensemble Cast. Boston was also notably the first critics group to acknowledge Leonardo DiCaprio‘s work in the upcoming The Revenant– the longtime Oscar bridesmaid (The Aviator, The Wolf of Wall Street) won Best Actor. However, DiCaprio had to settle in sharing the prizing with Paul Dano‘s acclaimed work as Brian Wilson in the musical bio Love & Mercy. Other winners included Charlotte Rampling for 45 Years, Mark Rylance for Bridge of Spies and Kristen Stewart for Clouds of Sils Maria.

The Boston Society of Film Critics- not to be confused with the Boston Film Critics Online– were founded in 1981 . Last year, they selected Boyhood as their Best Picture. Check out the full list of winners below:

• PICTURE: Spotlight (runner-up: Mad Max: Fury Road)
• DIRECTOR: Todd Haynes, Carol (runner-up: Tom McCarthy, Spotlight)
• ACTOR: (tie) Paul Dano, Love & Mercy and Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant (runners-up: Bryan Cranston, Trumbo; Tom Hardy, Legend)
• ACTRESS: Charlotte Rampling, 45 Years (runner-up Saoirse Ronan, Brooklyn)
• SUPPORTING ACTOR: Mark Rylance, Bridge of Spies (runner-up: Sylvester Stallone, Creed)
• SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Kristen Stewart, Clouds of Sils Maria (runner-up: Alicia Vikander, unspecified)
• ENSEMBLE CAST: Spotlight (runner-up: The Big Short)
• SCREENPLAY: Spotlight– Tom McCarthy, Josh Singer (runner-up: Carol– Phyllis Nagy)
• ANIMATED FEATURE: (tie) Inside Out and Anomalisa (runner-up: Shaun the Sheep)
• DOCUMENTARY: Amy (runner-up: The Look of Silence)
• FOREIGN FILM: The Look of Silence (runners-up: Son of Saul; White God)
• CINEMATOGRAPHY: Carol– Ed Lachman (runner-up: The Revenant– Emmanuel Lubezki)
• FILM EDITING: Mad Max: Fury Road– Margaret Sixel (runner-up: Spotlight– Tom McArdle)
• ORIGINAL SCORE: Love & Mercy– Atticus Ross (runner-up: Creed– Ludwig Göransson)
• BEST NEW FILMMAKER: Marielle Heller, The Diary of a Teenage Girl (runner-up: Alex Garland, Ex Machina)