New York Film Critics Circle 2015 Winners: ‘Carol’ Takes Four Including Best Picture, Director

Weinstein Co.’s Carolcame up as the big winner at the New York Film Critics Circle Awards this morning earning best film, best director for Todd Haynes, best screenplay for Phyllis Nagy’s adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s novel and best cinematography for Edward Lachman’s visuals. The groundswell comes on the heels of Carol earning six Film Independent Spirit noms last week, three Gotham noms and a best actress win for Rooney Mara at the Cannes Film Festival.

Outside of Carol, and a singled out best actor win for Michael Keaton in Open Road’s Spotlight — both titles which have dominated the early awards season buzz– the NYFCC results today provided kudo publicists plenty of hope that their hardwork is actually paying off as a number of contenders entered the conversation for the first time.

Among those breaking through this morning: Kristen Stewart, who was namedbest supporting actress for her turn in Olivier Assayas’ Clouds of Sils Maria, a role which also won her a Cesar, France’s Oscar equivalent. In addition, Mark Rylance, popped into the awards chatter for his turn as Cold War Soviet spy Rudolf Abel in DreamWorks’ Bridge of Spies. Then there was Saoirse Ronan who won best actress for her portrayal of a young Irish immigrant woman in Fox Searchlight’s Brooklyn. To date, Ronan counts a British Independent Film nomination for her performance in the John Crowley-directed movie.

Keaton’s win is an anamoly for the Spotlight cast which has largely been recognized for its