If it were up to the US film critics, The Hurt Locker would be the movie to beat at this year's Academy Awards. Kathryn Bigelow's acclaimed Iraq-set war drama last night picked up gongs for best picture and director at the annual National Society of Film Critics' awards in New York. Its star, Jeremy Renner, was named best actor.
Based on the accounts of embedded freelance journalist Mark Boal, The Hurt Locker charts the experiences of a bomb disposal team on the streets of Baghdad. On its release in the UK last year, Guardian critic Peter Bradshaw hailed it as "the best and most insightful anti-war film about Iraq". It picked up three Golden Globe nominations last month and has been named best picture by the Los Angeles and New York film critics' bodies.
Elsewhere, the French actor Yolande Moreau took the best actor award for her role as a working-class painter in Séraphine, while the Coen brothers' A Serious Man won for best screenplay. Mo'Nique was named best supporting actress for Precious, while the supporting actor award was split between Christoph Waltz for Inglourious Basterds and Paul Schneider for Bright Star.
Founded in 1966, the National Society of Film Critics has never been a reliable guide to Oscar glory, preferring to honour more left-field and formally ambitious productions. Last year's awards named the Israeli animation Waltz With Bashir as best picture. Mike Leigh and Sally Hawkins won for best director and best actress, respectively, for their work on Happy-Go-Lucky, while Sean Penn was named best actor for Milk. In the event, only Penn would go on to repeat that success on Oscar night.