'Departed' tops Florida critics list

Mirren, Whitaker take top acting honors once again

By STUART LEVINE

The Florida Film Critics Circle have selected "The Departed" as its best film of the year, while naming Martin Scorsese as top director.

The leading acting categories went according to what many others have said so far this awards season: Helen Mirren for "The Queen" and Forest Whitaker for "The Last King of Scotland."

Jennifer Hudson of "Dreamgirls" won the Pauline Kael Breakout Award.

Golden Orange for Outstanding Contribution to Film went to Billy Corben and Alfred Spellman, the director and producer of the documentaries "Cocaine Cowboys" and "Raw Deal: A Question of Consent."

Winners of the the Florida Film Critics Circle:

Best Picture: "The Departed"

Best Actor: Forest Whitaker, "The Last King of Scotland"

Best Actress: Helen Mirren, "The Queen"

Best Supporting Actor: Jack Nicholson, "The Departed"

Best Supporting Actress: Cate Blanchett, "Notes on a Scandal"

Best Director: Martin Scorsese, "The Departed"

Best Screenplay (Original or Adapted): William Monahan, "The Departed"

Best Cinematography: Guillermo Navarro, "Pan's Labyrinth"

Best Foreign-Language Film: "Pan's Labyrinth"

Best Animated Film: "Monster House"

Best Documentary: "An Inconvenient Truth"

Pauline Kael Breakout Award: Jennifer Hudson, "Dreamgirls"

Golden Orange for Outstanding Contribution to Film: Billy Corben and Alfred Spellman, director and producer of the Florida-centric documentaries "Cocaine Cowboys" (2006) and "Raw Deal: A Question of Consent" (2001), for their continued dedication to South Florida’s film industry.