​National Society of Film Critics goes for Godard

NEW YORK - The National Society of Film Critics has chosen the 3-D movie "Goodbye to Language," French director Jean-Luc Godard's meditation on communication, sex, violence and dogs, as the best picture of the year.

Society members, who gathered at New York's Lincoln Center on Saturday for the group's 49th annual awards meeting, voted Godard's 70-minute film collage, shot in 3-D (which often combines two points of view into a single screen), as their top pick.

Director Richard Linklater won best director for his drama, "Boyhood."

"Citizenfour," Laura Poitras' documentary of the government's secret surveillance program exposed by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden, was chosen Best Non-Fiction Film.

Mario Cotillard was named Best Actress for her performance in "Two Days, One Night."

Timothy Spall was named Best Actor for his portrayal of British painter J.M.W. Turner in Mike Leigh's "Mr. Turner," which also received the prize for Best Cinematography.

J.K. Simmons of "Whiplash" received the Best Supporting Actor Award. "Boyhood"'s Patricia Arquette was named Best Supporting Actress.

Wes Anderson's "The Grand Budapest Hotel" was cited for Best Screenplay.

The society is made up of 59 members from major publications across the country.

Results from the weighted ballots are below.

Best Picture

1. "Goodbye to Language" (Jean-Luc Godard) 25
2. "Boyhood" (Richard Linklater) 24
3. "Birdman" (Alejandro G. Iñárritu) 10
3. "Mr. Turner" (Mike Leigh) 10

Best Director

1. Richard Linklater, "Boyhood" (36)
2. Jean-Luc Godard, "Goodbye to Language" (17)
3. Mike Leigh, "Mr. Turner" (12)

Best Non-Fiction Film

1. "Citizenfour" (Laura Poitras) 56
2. "National Gallery" (Frederick Wiseman) 19
3. "The Overnighters" (Jesse Moss) 17

Best Actor

1. Timothy Spall, "Mr. Turner" (31)
2. Tom Hardy, "Locke" (10)
3. Joaquin Phoenix , "Inherent Vice" (9)
3. Ralph Fiennes, "The Grand Budapest Hotel" (9)

Best Actress

1. Marion Cotillard, "Two Days, One Night" (80)
2. Julianne Moore, "Still Alice" (35)
3. Scarlett Johansson, "Lucy," "Under the Skin" (21)

Best Supporting Actor

1. J.K. Simmons, "Whiplash" (24)
2. Mark Ruffalo, "Foxcatcher" (21)
3. Edward Norton, "Birdman" (16)

Best Supporting Actress

1. Patricia Arquette, "Boyhood" (26)
2. Agata Kulesza, "Ida" (18)
3. Rene Russo, "Nightcrawler" (9)

Best Screenplay

1. "The Grand Budapest Hotel" (Wes Anderson) 24
2. "Inherent Vice" (Paul Thomas Anderson) 15
2. "Birdman" (four co-writers) 15

Best Cinematography

1. "Mr. Turner" (Dick Pope) 33
2. "The Immigrant" (Darius Khondji) 27
3. "Goodbye to Language" (Fabrice Aragno) 9

Film Heritage Awards

Associate curator Ron Magliozzi and film conservation manager Peter Williamson of the Museum of Modern Art, for identifying and assembling the oldest surviving footage of featuring an African American cast, the incomplete 1913 feature, "Lime Kiln Field Day," starring Bert Williams; and

Ron Hutchinson, co-founder and director of The Vitaphone Project, which has collected and restored countless original soundtrack discs produced for early Warner Brothers sound short films and features.