Carol sweeps gay and lesbian critics' awards after Oscars snub

Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara

Carol sweeps gay and lesbian critics' awards after Oscars snub

Todd Haynes’s lesbian drama wins Dorians, despite missing out on best film and best director Academy nominations last week, though Rooney Mara remains favourite to take best supporting actress


Ben Child
Tuesday 19 January 2016 11.15 GMT

Fifties romance Carol was the big winner in the Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association awards – the Dorians – taking five top prizes including best film, best director for Todd Haynes and best actress for Cate Blanchett.

The critically acclaimed period drama, which was nominated for six Oscars last week, also won best screenplay (for Phyllis Nagy’s script) and best LGBTQ film, while Haynes also received the Wilde artist of the year award. Leonardo DiCaprio won best actor for his turn as a 19th-century frontiersman in The Revenant, Auschwitz drama Son of Saul won best foreign film and Amy took best documentary.

Carol’s success represents a fillip for Haynes and his team after the Cannes prize-winner unexpectedly missed out on Academy awards nominations for best film and best director . Blanchett and co-star Rooney Mara are up for best actress and best supporting actress respectively, with the latter the current bookmakers’ favourite to take home the prize, and Nagy also has a nod for best adapted screenplay.

Carol is the Manhattan-set story of burgeoning romance between Blanchett’s divorcing mother and Mara’s aspirant photographer. The film was adapted from the 1952 Patricia Highsmith novel The Price of Salt, which the author initially published under a pseudonym.

This year’s Academy awards ceremony will take place on 28 February at the Dolby theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, with Chris Rock due to host for the second time.

Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association awards - full list of film category winners

Film of the year: Carol
Director of the year: Todd Haynes, Carol
Film actor of the year: Leonardo Dicaprio, The Revenant
Film actress of the year: Cate Blanchett, Carol
LGBTQ film of the year: Carol
Foreign language film of the year: Son of Saul
Screenplay of the year: Carol
Documentary of the year: Amy
Visually striking film of the year: Mad Max: Fury Road
Unsung film of the year: Tangerine
Campy flick of the year: Magic Mike XXL
The ‘We’re Wilde about you’ rising star award: Alicia Vikander
Wilde wit of the year: Amy Schumer
Wilde artist of the year: Todd Haynes
Timeless award: Jane Fonda

THE GUARDIAN

BIOGRAPHY OF PATRICIA HIGHSMITH

BIOGRAPHY OF TODD HAYNES