NEW YORK – "The Squid and the Whale," a dark comedy about the way divorce changes the members of a literary family, was chosen as the year's best picture Sunday by the New York Film Critics Online.
The group named Philip Seymour Hoffman as best actor for "Capote," in which Hoffman transformed himself to play author Truman Capote during the researching and writing of "In Cold Blood," and Keira Knightley as best actress for playing the feisty Lizzie Bennet in "Pride and Prejudice."
Supporting-actor honors went to Oliver Platt as a pompous lard salesman in "Casanova" and Amy Adams as a childlike pregnant woman in "Junebug."
The best-director award went to Fernando Meirelles for the African conspiracy thriller "The Constant Gardener." Paul Haggis was named best debut director and received top screenwriting honors for "Crash," an ensemble drama about racial tensions in Los Angeles.
Besides "The Squid and the Whale," the group's choices for the year's top films are, in alphabetical order: "The Best of Youth," "Brokeback Mountain," "Capote," "The Constant Gardener," "Crash," "Good Night, and Good Luck," "Munich" and "Syriana."
Other 2005 picks from the New York Film Critics Online, composed of about 30 writers who are either exclusively online or who are broadcast or print critics with a strong online presence:
Cinematography: "March of the Penguins."
Animated film: "Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit"
Foreign-language film: "Downfall"
Documentary: "Grizzly Man"
Breakthrough performance: Terrence Howard ("Crash," "Hustle & Flow," "Four Brothers," "Get Rich or Die Tryin'").
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