Los Angeles, New York, and Boston critics all really liked The Social Network

By Sean O'Neal | December 13, 2010 | 5:01pm

Aux Features Film

The season of judging is upon us, and today the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, the Boston Society Of Film Critics, and the New York Film Critics Online have all weighed in on the best movies of 2010. As befitting a story about bringing people together (while also righteously fucking them over, but still), The Social Network seems to have resonated the loudest on both coasts, with the film taking best picture honors from everyone. All three critical groups also gave top honors to director David Fincher (who tied in L.A. with Carlos’ Olivier Assayas) and Aaron Sorkin’s screenplay, while both Boston and L.A. also recognized the score from Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross (which had another tie in L.A. with The Ghost Writer). Only Boston named Jesse Eisenberg best actor, however; in L.A., that award went to Colin Firth for The King’s Speech, while New York gave it to James Franco for 127 Hours.

All in all, the list of winners from L.A. harbors few surprises, with most having been in pre-Oscar talk for months now—although the acting categories favored some underdogs, such as Mother’s Kim Hye-Ja over Jennifer Lawrence in Winter’s Bone, A Prophet’s Niels Arestrup over favorite Geoffrey Rush for The King’s Speech, and Jacki Weaver’s best supporting actress win for the Australian thriller Animal Kingdom. Over in Boston, there were fewer upsets, with Christian Bale taking best supporting actor for The Fighter (Did you really think Boston would ignore The Fighter?) and Natalie Portman winning best actress for Black Swan—a movie all but ignored in L.A., save a nod for best cinematography. The New York Film Critics Circle—the longer-running, weightier precursor to the NYFCO—is expected to offer its accolades later today. Wonder if they also liked The Social Network?