Here's the statistical quirk that sums up Mad Max: Fury Road's sensational greatness: Seventy-three of the 127 critics voting in our annual poll picked George Miller's apocalyptic Busytown Racers classic as one of the year's best films. Only one of those critics voted for it in the Best Screenplay category. (The winner there: Spotlight, written by Josh Singer and Tom McCarthy.) But Miller raced away with Best Director, with Carol's Todd Haynes a respectable second.
In the acting categories, Kristen Stewart (Clouds of Sils Maria) doubled the votes of Rooney Mara (Carol), her closest competition for Best Supporting Actress. But consensus in this double-stuffed film year proved otherwise elusive.
Best Actor is a squeaker, with winner Géza Röhrig (Son of Saul) and second and third places' Michael B. Jordan (Creed) and Michael Fassbender (Steve Jobs) all within two points in our ranking system. Fassbender actually turns up on three more ballots than Röhrig, but Röhrig's supporters ranked him higher. (If we spotted Fassbender the couple of points critics gave him for his turn as another world-devouring egoist, in Macbeth, he would sneak into first.)
Charlotte Rampling (45 Years) bested Nina Hoss (Phoenix) more handily in the Best Actress race, and Mark Rylance (Bridge of Spies) won out over Best Supporting runner-up Sylvester Stallone by only a handful of votes. If Creed and Rocky have taught us anything, that counts as a win for both.
As for the worst film of the year: Unlike in American politics, hate inspires less consensus than love. Only seven critics sandbagged the winner/loser, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl. Still, that's two more than named The Cobbler, and you can't fathom how terrible The Cobbler is.
Best Picture
1. Mad Max: Fury Road
2. Carol
3. Spotlight
4. Phoenix
5. Tangerine
6. Anomalisa
7. Clouds of Sils Maria
8. Inside Out
9. Brooklyn
10. The Assassin
Best Actor
Géza Röhrig, Son of Saul
Michael B. Jordan, Creed
Michael Fassbender, Steve Jobs
Best Actress
Charlotte Rampling, 45 Years
Nina Hoss, Phoenix
Saoirse Ronan, Brooklyn
Best Supporting Actress
Kristen Stewart, Clouds of Sils Maria
Rooney Mara, Carol
Jennifer Jason Leigh, The Hateful Eight
Best Supporting Actor
Mark Rylance, Bridge of Spies
Sylvester Stallone, Creed
Mark Ruffalo, Spotlight
Best Undistributed Film
Chevalier
Best Documentary
The Look of Silence
Best First Feature
The Diary of a Teenage Girl
Best Animated Feature
Inside Out
Best Director
George Miller, Mad Max: Fury Road
Best Screenplay
Spotlight
Worst Film
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
Movie Everyone Is Wrong About
Jupiter Ascending
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