The Edge of the Frame

Well, after a week of “Zero Dark Thirty” dominating the east coast critics hearts and minds, Los Angeles finally breaks up the party and shakes things up a bit. Without a doubt, the big winner of the night was “The Master.” Despite narrowly missing Best Picture to Cannes winner “Amour,” the Anderson’s controversial drama earned four awards, including a supremely deserving Best Actor prize for Joaquin Phoenix. I’ve still got a lot of performances yet to see this year, but so far, none has topped this actor’s brilliant comeback turn.

Anderson himself garnered Best Director over Kathryn Bigelow, while Amy Adams confirms her candidacy in Best Supporting Actress for her stellar performance. Dwight Henry pulls out a massive underdog victory for “Beasts of the Southern Wild” and Jennifer Lawrence tightens up the Best Actress race, tying with Emmanualle Riva, who had a hell of a day on the other side of the country.

Here’s the full list of winners, below, and stay tuned for an update from the Boston and New York Film Critics Online who announced simultaneously this afternoon:

2012 LAFCA WINNERS

BEST PICTURE: “Amour”
runner-up: “The Master”

BEST DIRECTOR: Paul Thomas Anderson – “The Master”
runner-up: Kathryn Bigelow – “Zero Dark Thirty”

BEST LEADING ACTOR: Joaquin Phoenix – “The Master”
runner-up: Denis Lavant – “Holy Motors”

BEST LEADING ACTRESS: (TIE) Jennifer Lawrence – “Silver Linings Playbook” and Emmanuelle Riva – “Amour”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Amy Adams – “The Master”
runner-up: Anne Hathaway – “Les Miserables”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Dwight Henry – “Beasts of the Southern Wild”
runner-up: Christoph Waltz – “Django Unchained”

BEST SCREENPLAY: “Argo”
runner-up: “Silver Linings Playbook”

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM: “Holy Motors”
runner-up: “Footnote”

BEST DOCUMENTARY: “The Gatekeepers”
runner-up: “Searching for Sugar Man”

BEST ANIMATED FILM: “Frankenweenie”
runner-up: “It’s Such a Beautiful Day”

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: “Skyfall”
runner-up: “The Master”

BEST EDITING: “Zero Dark Thirty”
runner-up: “Argo”

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN: “The Master”,
runner-up: “Moonrise Kingdom”

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE: “Beasts of the Southern Wild”
runner-up: “The Master”

NEW GENERATION AWARD: Benh Zeitlin – “Beasts of the Southern Wild”