Terrence Malick’s epic drama The Tree of Life beat out The Artist and The Descendants to be named Best Film of 2011 by the Toronto Film Critics Association (TFCA) today. The group also honoured Malick with the title of Best Director of the year.
The psychological drama Take Shelter was also a big winner, with stars Michael Shannon and Jessica Chastain winning Best Actor and Best Supporting Actress for their respective roles in the film. Michelle Williams won Best Actress for her brilliant portrayal of Marilyn Monroe in My Week With Marilyn and Christopher Plummer earned Best Supporting Actor for Mike Mills’ Beginners, in which he plays an elderly father who announces he’s gay after his wife passes away.
Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin won the Best Screenplay award for Moneyball, the true story of how Oakland A’s general manager Billy Beane used statistics to help build his team. Attack the Block won Best First Feature, Mysteries of Lisbon won Best Foregn-Language Film, Steven Spielberg’s The Adventures of Tintin won Best Animated Feature, and the Allan King Documentary Award went to Patricio Guzmán’s Nostalgia for the Light.
The Rogers Best Canadian Film Award, which comes with a $15,000 cash prize, will be announced at a gala dinner on January 10, 2012 at The Carlu in Toronto. The three finalists for the award are Café de Flore, David Cronenberg’s A Dangerous Method, and Monsieur Lazhar. Cronenberg will be at the event to present a special award.
Established in 1997, the Toronto Film Critics Association is comprised of Toronto-based journalists and broadcasters who specialize in film criticism and commentary. All major dailies, weeklies and a variety of other print, electronic and web outlets, including Criticize This!, are represented.
For more information on the TFCA, visit torontofilmcritics.com.
Full list of winners and runner-ups below.
BEST PICTURE
Winner:
The Tree of Life
Runners-up:
The Artist
The Descendants
BEST ACTOR
Winner:
Michael Shannon, Take Shelter
Runners-up:
George Clooney, The Descendants
Michael Fassbender, Shame
BEST ACTRESS
Winner:
Michelle Williams, My Week With Marilyn
Runners-up:
Elizabeth Olsen, Martha Marcy May Marlene
Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Winner:
Christopher Plummer, Beginners
Runners-up:
Albert Brooks, Drive
Patton Oswalt, Young Adult
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Winner:
Jessica Chastain, Take Shelter
Runners-up:
Jessica Chastain, The Tree of Life
Shailene Woodley, The Descendants
BEST DIRECTOR
Winner:
Terrence Malick, The Tree of Life
Runners-up:
Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
Nicolas Winding Refn, Drive
BEST SCREENPLAY
Winner:
Moneyball, written by Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin, story by Stan Chervin, based on the book by Michael Lewis
Runners-up:
The Descendants, written by Alexander Payne
The Tree of Life, written by Terrence Malick
BEST FIRST FEATURE
Winner:
Attack the Block, directed by Joe Cornish
Runners-up:
Margin Call, directed by J.C. Chandor
Martha Marcy May Marlene, directed by Sean Durkin
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Winner:
The Adventures of Tintin
Runners-up:
Puss in Boots
Rango
BEST FOREIGN-LANGUAGE FILM
Winner:
Mysteries of Lisbon
Runners-up:
Attenberg
Le Havre
A Separation
ALLAN KING DOCUMENTARY AWARD
Winner:
Nostalgia for the Light
Runners-up:
Into the Abyss
Project Nim
ROGERS CANADIAN FILM AWARD FINALISTS
Café de Flore, directed by Jean-Marc Vallée
A Dangerous Method, directed by David Cronenberg
Monsieur Lazhar, directed by Philippe Falardeau
