Boston Society of Film Critics Awards

Best Picture:
No Country for Old Men

Best Director:
Julian Schnabel, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

Best Actor:
Frank Langella, Starting Out in the Evening

Best Actress:
Marion Cotillard, La Vie En Rose

Best Supporting Actor:
Javier Bardem, No Country for Old Men

Best Supporting Actress:
Amy Ryan, Gone Baby Gone

Best Cinematography:
Janusz Kaminski, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

Best Screenplay:
Brad Bird, Ratatouille

Best New Filmmaker:
Ben Affleck, Gone Baby Gone

Best Ensemble Cast:
Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead

Best Foreign Language Film
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

Best Documentary:
Crazy Love


Amy Ryan is picking up some serious heat, picking up the first two major Best Supporting Actress awards precursors (she also won the National Board of Review award last week) over assumed front-runner Cate Blanchett from I'm Not There. This not only solidifies her Oscar nomination, but makes her a very serious contender. Blanchett's win may not be so pre-ordained after all. Which is a shame - Ryan was very good in Gone Baby Gone but Blanchett was nothing short of astonishing in her transformative performance.

Frank Langella's win for Starting Out in the Evening is definitely a surprise. Marion Cotillard's isn't, but is richly deserved. It's the best performance of the year by anyone, and I hope the Academy will recognize that.

I was also pleasantly surprised to see Before the Devil Knows You're Dead take home the Ensemble Cast award - another richly deserved recognition.

However, Crazy Love for Best Documentary is a questionable choice at best. It's an oddly interesting little film, but never more than that. It's much more mundane than it would like you to think it is. Where is the love for For the Bible Tells Me So and God Grew Tired of Us? Hell, I'd rather they award Zoo if they wanted to honor something outlandish, at least it's more creatively executed.

And of course, No Country for Old Men has won yet another Best Picture award, solidifying its status as the critical favorite - which still does not guarantee an Oscar win. Remember, the critical favorite rarely wins. My guess is that the ultimate Oscar winner will not be a big winner among these early precursors, and neither Atonement or The Kite Runner is making a big showing as of yet. The Academy usually goes for something more accessable.