'The Hurt Locker' wins yet another critics' award

(All Rights Reserved)

The National Society of Film Critics, considered the most elite of the critics groups voting for movie awards, chose The Hurt Locker as the best picture of 2009, per the organization's announcement on Sunday. It also honored Kathryn Bigelow as best director for the film.

This is the latest in an extensive list of nods as best film from various critics associations, including the New York Film Circle, San Francisco Critics Circle, Los Angeles Film Critics Association, as well as winning critics' votes in Boston, Austin, Washington DC, Chicago, and the Online Critics Society. It also won the Gotham Awards for best picture and the British Independent Film Awards for Best Foreign Film.
The Hurt Locker also has three nominations in the upcoming Golden Globes and the Independent Spirit Awards.

The film offers an Iraq war story following an elite Army bomb squad amidst the chaos of war set in a dangerous city. The film is the first of several Iraq-based pictures to win recognition and its 27 awards far exceeds all other films.

The NSFC also gave best actor to Jeremy Renner for The Hurt Locker, breaking the lead of George Clooney for Up the Air.

It does not indicate that the critics' votes will be any influence on the Academy Awards for an Oscar nomination, but the list does present an impressive recognition for the film.

RC