Originally published December 7, 2015. Updated April 15, 2018.
Robert Kojder looks at the 2015 Awards Race…
If you have been following along with my awards race musings, Spotlight taking home some major wins should not come as much of a surprise. I told you not to count this one out. despite the National Board of Review hailing Mad Max: Fury Road as the best of 2015’s class, while the New York Film Critics Circle sided with Carol.
It also should be noted that Spotlight is predominantly set in Boston, so there may have been some favoritism involved within that particular circuit. Probably not too much though, because after all, the film is about journalists uncovering a massive pedophilia scandal within the Catholic Church, which doesn’t exactly make for great tourism advertising.
The rest of the categories and winners are as follows:
Boston Society of 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 & Mercy) and 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)
Best Screenplay: Spotlight; Runner-up: Carol
Best Cinematography: Carol; Runner-up: The Revenant
Best Editing: Mad Max: Fury Road; Runner-up: Spotlight
Best Original Score: Love & Mercy; Runner-up: Creed
Best Ensemble Cast: Spotlight; Runner-up: The Big Short
Best Animated Film: (TIE) Anomalisa and Inside Out; Runner-up: Shaun the Sheep Movie
Best Foreign Film: The Look of Silence; Runner-up: White God
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
Los Angeles Film Critics Association
Best Director: George Miller, Mad Max Fury Road; Runner-up: Todd Haynes, Carol
Best Foreign Language Film: Son of Saul
Best Actress: Charlotte Rampling, 45 Years; Runner-up: Saoirse Ronan, Brooklyn
Best Actor: Michael Fassbender, Steve Jobs.; Runner-up: Géza 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 Screenplay: Spotlight; Runner-up: Anomalisa
Best Cinematography: Mad Max: Fury Road; Runner-up: Carol
Best Animation: Anomalisa; Runner-up: Inside Out
Best Documentary: Amy; Runner-up: The Look of Silence
Best Editing: The Big Short; Runner-up: Mad Max: Fury Road
Best Music Score: Anomalisa and Carol; Runner-up: The Hateful Eight
Best Production Design: Mad Max: Fury Road
Best Picture seems to be saving up into a race between Spotlight and Mad Max: Fury Road, as associations seem to be split between the two. If nothing else, Mad Max: Fury Road is quickly becoming a lock for many of the technical categories.Leonardo DiCaprio and Michael Fassbender both got much-needed wins to not only keep their chances at Best Actor hopeful, but to keep their respective films relevant, as both Steve Jobs and The Revenant have routinely been shut out. It’s also nice seeing Paul Dano get some love for Love and Mercy, which until now seemed to have unfortunately been forgotten.
Charlotte Rampling had a great day, and is quickly becoming a potential threat to initially perceived frontrunners Brie Larson and Saoirse Ronan. Meanwhile, Kristin Stewart is staying in the mix, and will probably end up with an Oscar nomination at this rate. Also noteworthy is Alicia Vikander nabbing an award for Ex Machina of all projects. It’s a fantastic movie, but The Danish Girl seemed to be her featured film being pushed in these races.
Also surprising is Michael Shannon with some for 99 Homes, one of like, 36 films he gave incredible performances in this year. Mark Rylance also continues to upset Supporting Actor frontrunner Michael Keaton, who most assumed would be showered with accolades as residual due for coming within inches of an Oscar for Birdman.
Amy is continuing to pick up awards for Best Documentary (this movie has to be the surest thing to a lock for an Oscar at this point, and rightfully so), with Inside Out finally getting some competition in the animation category in the form of Anomalisa. Reports are that it too, is an amazing film, but something tells me as far as the Academy goes, they will trail-blaze the safe route and reward Pixar again.
Finally, let’s all give a collective WTF to The Big Short receiving an editing award over Mad Max: Fury Road. I’m not knocking the film, it’s just an unexpected choice.
Visit back soon for more updates!
Robert Kojder – An aficionado of film, wrestling, and gaming. Follow me on Twitter or friend me on Facebook
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