New York Film Critics Circle Awards

The other bigwig critics group chimes in, and it's another victory for No Country For Old Men, which also picks up prizes for the Coen Brothers' direction and script as well as yet another win for Javier Bardem.

Amy Ryan continues her sweep of the Best Supporting Actress awards. A commenter on the last post asked if these critics awards really mean anything to the Oscar race, and the short answer is that they definitely do for somebody like Ryan, who before yesterday was only minimally on the radar but now should be considered not just a lock for a nomination but a pretty good bet to win. It was assumed that Cate Blanchett would take most of these awards for her portrayal of Bob Dylan in I'm Not There, and she'll still be a strong contender, but Ryan is suddenly the one to beat.

There Will Be Blood gets a couple more mentions here, and the producers of that film must be happy with these early results. Also, Persepolis has really been duking it out with front-runner Ratatouille for the animated prize.

Best Picture
No Country for Old Men

Best Director
Joel and Ethan Coen, No Country for Old Men

Best Actor
Daniel Day Lewis, There Will Be Blood

Best Actress
Julie Christie, Away from Her

Best Supporting Actress
Amy Ryan, Gone Baby Gone

Best Supporting Actor
Javier Bardem, No Country for Old Men

Best Screenplay
Joel and Ethan Coen, No Country for Old Men

Best Cinematographer
Robert Elswit, There Will Be Blood

Best Foreign Film
The Lives of Others

Best Animated Film
Persepolis

Best First Film
Sarah Polley, Away from Her

Best Documentary
No End in Sight

Lifetime Achievement
Sidney Lumet

Special Critics' Award
Charles Burnett, Killer of Sheep