Gong for gay cowboy film

Jake Gyllenhaal, left, and Heath Ledger in Brokeback Mountain. Picture / Reuters

Brokeback Mountain, the movie about a gay love affair that transforms the lives of two cowboys, was named 2005's best film by an influential group of critics.

It's the first of several awards lists expected to narrow the field of Oscar contenders.

The Los Angeles Film Critics Association gave its best director award to Ang Lee for his work on Brokeback Mountain and put one of the film's stars, Heath Ledger, in the runner-up position for best actor.

The critics group named Philip Seymour Hoffman as 2005's best actor for his role as author Truman Capote in Capote, and in a surprise, Vera Farmiga was named best actress for playing a drug-addicted woman in the low-budget drama Down to the Bone.

Director David Cronenberg's dramatic thriller, A History of Violence, about a man pursued by mobsters who believe he belongs to their gang, was runner-up for best film and Cronenberg was runner-up for top director.

Judi Dench landed the best actress runner-up award for her part in Mrs Henderson Presents, about an upper-class British woman who buys a London theatre and fills it with nude actresses to entertain troops during World War II.

The Los Angeles critics list is the first major group of award winners this Oscar season, and will be followed next week by New York Film Critics Circle honours and nominees for Critics Choice Awards and Golden Globe Awards.

Early critical honours and nominations give Hollywood award watchers a more defined list of films to consider among the year's best.

The Oscars, given out on March 5 by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, are the US film industry's top honours.

In other awards, Capote, written by Dan Futterman, and The Squid and the Whale, tied for favourite screenplay. Catherine Keener was named best supporting actress for her work in four films: Capote, The Ballad of Jack and Rose, The 40 Year Old Virgin and The Interpreter. Amy Adams was the runner-up for her work in the low-budget comedy Junebug.

William Hurt was awarded best supporting actor for his mobster in A History of Violence, and Frank Langella was runner-up for Good Night, and Good Luck. The foreign-language film award went to Cache by director Michael Haneke and the runner-up was 2046 from director Wong Kar Wai.

Terrence Howard, who starred in Hustle & Flow, was honoured with the new-generation award, and Richard Widmark will receive an award for career achievement.

The Los Angeles Film Critics awards will be presented in Los Angeles on January 17.

- REUTERS