The Social Network directed by David Fincher has been named the top film by the Los Angeles Film Critics Association which is seen as something of a precursor to the Academy Awards. It won for best film, best director and best screenplay and although it had serious competition, it looks set to clean up next year come Oscar.
The Facebook tell-all embellishes somewhat for narrative purposes but ultimately it’s a film that chronicles the rise of a defining moment in the information age and the introduction of an internet application that has profound ramifications for generations to come.
With last years hard nosed story of the bombs disposal expert in war-torn Iraq which served to inform and underpin the critical consequences of the stance towards occupation and the unwinnable battles against terrorism, The Hurt Locker conveyed a much needed message which the Academy rewarded. The same can be said of The Social Network, which documents the development of a genius idea, its execution and delivery as well as the personal consequences of establishing a financial behemoth and the impact of it’s creation, which in this case revolutionized communications and modern society.
This film has also been receiving acclaim elsewhere, nabbing the top prize at the recent Boston Society of Film Critics Awards and the New York Film Critics so it’s a safe bet that this film will be high on the list of favorites at next years Academy Awards. That said it will likely encounter serious competition from David O. Russell‘s boxing flick The Fighter as well as Darren Aronofsky‘s Black Swan, which has become something of a sleeper hit with its intense psychological character portrait that could see director David Fincher get a run for his money.
Here’s the full list of winners announced by Brent Simon from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association with the awards ceremony to be held Saturday, January 15 at the Inter-Continental, Los Angeles.
PICTURE: The Social Network ; Runner-up: Carlos
DIRECTOR: David Fincher, The Social Network and Olivier Assayas, Carlos (tie)
ACTOR: Colin Firth, The King’s Speech; Runner-up: Edgar Ramirez, Carlos
ACTRESS: Kim Hye-ja, Mother; Runner-up: Jennifer Lawrence, Winter’s Bone
SUPPORTING ACTOR: Niels Arestrup, A Prophet; Runner-up: Geoffrey Rush, The King’s Speech
SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Jacki Weaver, Animal Kingdom; Runner-up: Olivia Williams, The Ghost Writer
SCREENPLAY: Aaron Sorkin, The Social Network; Runner-up: David Seidler, The King’s Speech
FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM: Carlos; Runner-up: Mother
ANIMATION: Toy Story 3; Runner-up: The Illusionist
DOCUMENTARY / NON-FICTION FILM: Last Train Home; Runner-up: Exit Through the Gift Shop
CINEMATOGRAPHY: Matthew Libatique, Black Swan; Runner-up: Roger Deakins, True Grit
MUSIC/SCORE: Alexandre Desplat, The Ghost Writer, and Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, The Social Network (tie)
PRODUCTION DESIGN: Guy Hendrix Dyas, Inception ; Runner-up: Eve Stewart, The King’s Speech
NEW GENERATION: Lena Dunham, Tiny Furniture
DOUGLAS E. EDWARDS INDEPENDENT/EXPERIMENTAL FILM/VIDEO: Film Socialism
LEGACY OF CINEMA AWARDS: Serge Bromberg, Henri-Georges Clouzot’s Inferno, and the F.W. Murnau Foundation and Fernando Pena for the restoration of Metropolis
CAREER ACHIEVEMENT: Paul Mazursky
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