Spotlight, the real-life story of a cover-up in the Catholic church’s handling of paedophile priests in Boston, has been named film of the year by the San Francisco Film Critics Circle.
Based on the Boston Globe’s investigation into multiple cases of child abuse by members of the city clergy, Tom McCarthy’s drama was up against fellow Oscar contenders Carol and Brooklyn in the best picture category. Its win follows Golden Globe nominations last week for best screenplay, best director and best picture, drama. It was previously declared the best picture of 2015 by critics in Los Angeles and Boston, setting it up for a decent run at best picture in the Academy Awards in March.
Other prizes handed out by the San Francisco critics’ body included best actor to Paul Dano – for his performance as a young Brian Wilson in the Beach Boys biopic Love & Mercy – and best actress to Saoirse Ronan, star of the Colm Tóibín adaptation Brooklyn. Best director went to George Miller for Mad Max: Fury Road, which received additional prizes for editing and cinematography.
Miller’s frenetic reboot was also named the best film of 2015 by the Online Film Critics Society. The group, which consists of 254 bloggers from 22 countries, also joined the SFFCC in handing its editing and cinematography prizes to the film. It named Michael Fassbender best actor for his performance as Apple’s co-founder in Danny Boyle’s biopic Steve Jobs, and Cate Blanchett, who stars in Todd Haynes’s Carol, as best actress. Both Blanchett and Fassbender are expected to receive Oscar nominations.
UK critics have yet to announce their nominations. The London Film Critics’ Circle will reveal its potential award winners on 15 December.
