‘Boyhood’ sweeps film critics awards

LOS ANGELES—“Boyhood” is on a roll. The Los Angeles Film Critics Association named Richard Linklater’s 12-year experiment its best picture of 2014 on Sunday.

Linklater also earned a best director honor for his film, while Patricia Arquette picked up best actress.

Julianne Moore, who is largely considered an Oscar frontrunner for her portrayal of an Alzheimer’s patient in “Still Alice,” was awarded runner-up in that category.

In the past week, “Boyhood” has become the consensus choice for critics groups. The Boston Society of Film Critics, the New York Film Critics Circle and the New York Film Critics Online have all picked the film as the year’s best. The only outlier is the National Board of Review, which gave that prize to “A Most Violent Year.”

The LA Film Critics Awards often overlap with eventual Oscar nominees, and sometimes winners, but are also known for quirky choices. Best actor recipient Tom Hardy, whose nearly solo performance in the little-seen thriller “Locke” earned him critical raves, is notably absent from any serious awards conversation.

JK Simmons, who is very much in the Oscar conversation, was awarded with best supporting actor for his portrayal of a sadistic jazz instructor in the indie “Whiplash.”

Beyond “Boyhood’s” four wins, including film editing, only two other films were multi-honorees: The Polish drama “Ida,” which won best foreign language film and best supporting actress for Agata Kulesza, and Wes Anderson’s “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” for screenplay and production design.

Aside from the cinematography award for Emmanuel Lubezki, “Birdman,” a favorite among critics, was only runner-up in a variety of categories, including best actor for Michael Keaton and best supporting actor for Edward Norton.

The Edward Snowden film “Citizenfour” picked up best documentary, with Steve James’ ode to Roger Ebert “Life Itself” taking runner-up. Both films are on the shortlist for Oscar consideration.

Studio Ghibli’s fantasy “The Tale of Princess Kaguya” won for best animation. “The Lego Movie” was runner-up.

“Wild,” “The Theory of Everything” and “The Imitation Game” were shut out. The Martin Luther King Jr. film “Selma,” narrowly missed that distinction, as director Ava DuVernay was given the New Generation award.

Gena Rowlands was previously announced as the career achievement award recipient.

Awards will be handed out at the 40th annual Los Angeles Film Critics Association ceremony on Jan. 10. AP