Utah Critics love their genre films, awarding only The Revenant, Room and Creed in the main categories with the runners-up all largely hailing from genres other than Academy-friendly dramas. While there weren’t many really unusual selections, two stick out. The first is Rose Byrne’s win for Spy, a movie I wholeheartedly support. The second is a rare upset victory of any film over Spotlight for Best Original Screenplay. That film: Inside Out, a most interesting selection.

Award Tallies

(3) Mad Max: Fury Road
(2) Inside Out

The Awards

Best Film

Mad Max: Fury Road (RU: The Martian)

Best Animated Feature

Inside Out (RU: Shaun the Sheep Movie)

Best Director

George Miller – Mad Max: Fury Road (RU: Ridley Scott – The Martian)

Best Actor

Leonardo DiCaprio – The Revenant (RU: Matt Damon – The Martian)

Best Actress

Brie Larson – Room (RU: Saoirse Ronan – Brooklyn)

Best Supporting Actor

Sylvester Stallone – Creed (RU: Oscar Isaac – Ex Machina)

Best Supporting Actress

Rose Byrne – Spy (RU: Alicia Vikander – Ex Machina)

Best Original Screenplay

Inside Out (RU: Spotlight)

Best Adapted Screenplay

The Martian (RU: Brooklyn)

Best Cinematography

Mad Max: Fury Road (RU: The Revenant)

Best Non-English Language Film

Timbuktu (RU: Son of Saul)

Best Documentary

The Hunting Ground (RU: Amy)

Utah Film Critics Data

First Awards: 2002 (14)