The San Francisco Film Critics Circle has named “The Tree of Life” the Best Picture of 2011, while naming its prime mover Terrence Malick as Best Director and its lenser Emmanuel Lubezki as Best Cinematographer.

Gary Oldman spirited away with Best Actor honors for playing retiring—if not retired—spy George Smiley in “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy,” and the Circle bestowed its Best Actress award on Tilda Swinton, the beleaguered mother of a bad seed in “We Need to Talk About Kevin.” Best Supporting Actress went to Vanessa Redgrave as Shakespeare’s fiercely protective Volumnia in “Coriolanus,” and Best Supporting Actor to Albert Brooks for his change-of-pace work as a volatile gangster in “Drive.”

The San Francisco Film Critics Circle (SFFCC), which includes thirty-one Bay Area film critics, met at the Variety Club Screening Room to discuss the merits of nominees and determine a slate of the year’s best achievements in film.

Among these were Best Foreign Language Film “Certified Copy,” Abbas Kiarostami’s thought-provoking, emotionally wrenching examination of relationships, art, and existence; Best Documentary “Tabloid,” Errol Morris’ unique take on a stranger-than-fiction tale that must be seen to be disbelieved; and Best Animated Film “Rango,” a loopy and textured Western adventure.

The group honored J.C. Chandor for his original screenplay “Margin Call” and Bridget O’Connor and Peter Straughan for adapting John le Carré’s novel “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.” A Special Citation singled out “The Mill and the Cross”—Lech Majewski’s distinctly original exploration of the inspiration for and creation of a Breugel painting—as an under-the-radar title deserving of attention.

The annual Marlon Riggs Award, honoring courage and innovation in the world of cinema, goes to the San Francisco-based National Film Preservation Foundation, for its work in the preservation and dissemination of endangered, culturally significant films.

The full list of winners for the 2011 San Francisco Film Critics Circle Awards follows.

Best Picture
“The Tree of Life”

Best Director
Terrence Malick for “The Tree of Life”

Best Original Screenplay
J.C. Chandor for “Margin Call”

Best Adapted Screenplay
Bridget O’Connor & Peter Straughan for “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy”

Best Actor
Gary Oldman for “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy”

Best Actress
Tilda Swinton for “We Need to Talk About Kevin”

Best Supporting Actor
Albert Brooks for “Drive”

Best Supporting Actress
Vanessa Redgrave for “Coriolanus”

Best Animated Feature
“Rango”

Best Foreign Language Film
“Certified Copy”

Best Documentary
“Tabloid”

Best Cinematography
Emmanuel Lubezki for “The Tree of Life”

Marlon Riggs Award for courage & vision in the Bay Area film community
National Film Preservation Foundation, in recognition of for its work in the preservation and dissemination of endangered, culturally significant films

Special Citation for under-appreciated independent cinema
“The Mill and the Cross”

As our members complete their Best of 2011 lists, they will be added here.

Jeffrey M. Anderson (Combustible Celluloid)

“The Tree of Life”
“Certified Copy”
“Rango”
“Hugo”
“Meek’s Cutoff”
“Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy”
“Road to Nowhere”
“Cave of Forgotten Dreams”
“Mysteries of Lisbon”
“Moneyball”

added 12/27/2011

Jeanne Aufmuth (Palo Alto Weekly)

“Bridesmaids”
“The Debt”
“Drive”
“Margin Call”
“Rise of the Planet of the Apes”
“A Separation”
“Senna”
“Shame”
“Tabloid”
“We Need to Talk About Kevin”

added 01/02/2012

Peter Canavese (Groucho Reviews)

“The Tree of Life”
“Certified Copy”
“Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives”
“Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy”
“Nostalgia for the Light”
“The Mill and the Cross”
“The Interrupters”
“Margin Call”
“The Skin I Live In”
“The Artist”

Read the full article
added 01/02/2012

Fernando F. Croce (Slant Magazine)

“Certified Copy”
“The Tree of Life”
“Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives”
“Mysteries of Lisbon”
“Film Socialisme”
“Meek’s Cutoff”
“Poetry”
“Take Shelter”
“Nostalgia for the Light”
“The Road to Nowhere”

added 01/02/2012

Rossiter Drake (SF Examiner)

“War Horse”
“Jane Eyre”
“Project Nim”
“Hugo”
“Into the Abyss”
“Drive”
“The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”
“Win Win”
“The Descendants”
“The Lincoln Lawyer”

added 01/02/2012

Cheryl Eddy (SF Bay Guardian)

“The Artist” (Michel Hazanavicius, France/Belgium)
“Young Adult” (Jason Reitman, U.S.)
“Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” (Tomas Alfredson, France/U.K./Germany)
“Drive” (Nicolas Winding Refn, U.S.)
“Melancholia” (Lars von Trier, Denmark/Sweden/France/Germany)
“The Descendants” (Alexander Payne, U.S.)
“Shame” (Steve McQueen, U.K.)
“The Trip” (Michael Winterbottom, U.K.)
“Cave of Forgotten Dreams” (Werner Herzog, Canada/U.S./France/Germany/U.K.)
“TrollHunter” (André Øvredal, Norway)
“The Tree of Life” (Terrence Malick, U.S.)

added 01/02/2012

Susan Gerhard (SF360)

“Poetry”
“Certified Copy”
“The Arbor”
“Cedar Rapids”
“Into Eternity”
“Cave of Forgotten Dreams”
“Young Adult”
“The Trip ”
“The Mill and The Cross”
“Project Nim”

added 01/02/2012

Michael Guillen (The Evening Class)

“The Artist” (Michel Hazavanicius)
“Buck” (Cindy Meehl)
“Gold & Copper”/”Tala Va Mes” (Homayoun Asadian)
“In the Family” (Patrick Wang)
“Melancholia” (Lars Von Trier)
“The Mill and the Cross” (Lech Majewski)
“A Separation”/”Jodái-e Náder az Simin” (Asghar Farhadi)
“The Tiniest Place”/”El Lugar Más Pequeño” (Tatiana Huezo)
“Tree of Life” (Terrence Malick)
“We Were Here” (David Weismann & Bill Weber)

added 01/02/2012

Peter Hartlaub (San Francisco Chronicle)

“Crazy, Stupid, Love.”
“Hanna”
“Senna”
“The Descendants”
“Warrior”
“Win Win”
“The Artist”
“Take Shelter”
“Hugo”
“The Tree of Life”

added 01/02/2012

Leba Hertz (San Francisco Chronicle)

“The Artist”
“Midnight in Paris”
“We Were Here”
“Hugo”
“Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close”
“Super 8″
“War Horse”
“Sing Your Song”
“My Week with Marilyn”
“The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”

added 01/02/2012

Jonathan Kiefer (The Faster Times)

(More of a top ten trends list, entitled If You Liked Those Other Top 2011 Movies Lists, Try This One)

The Cosmic Contemplation (a la “The Tree of Life” and “Nostalgia for the Light”)
The movie-history reverie (a la “The Artist” and “Hugo”
The woman, roaring (a la “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” and Melissa McCarthy in “Bridesmaids”)
The sleek, sexy danger (a la “Drive” and “Shame”)
The alien invasion (a la “Attack the Block” and “Super 8″)
The coping with awful offspring (a la “We Need to Talk About Kevin” and “Poetry”)
The great depression (a la “Melancholia” and “The Beaver”)
The kaleidoscopic view of fractured young psyche (a la “Martha Marcy May Marlene” and “The Arbor”)
The animals who will talk us out of tweeness (a la “Beginners” and “The Future”)
The soul growth, amid wondrous natural splendor “The Descendants” and “Le Quattro Volte”

Read the full article
added 12/27/2011

Mick LaSalle (San Francisco Chronicle)

“The Artist”
“My Week with Marilyn”
“One Day”
“Bridesmaids”
“Like Crazy”
“We Were Here”
“The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”
“Midnight in Paris”
“Moneyball”
“Love Crime”

added 01/02/2012

Omar P. L. Moore (The Popcorn Reel)

“The Tree of Life”
“Into the Abyss”
“Shame”
“Certified Copy”
“Tabloid”
“Road to Nowhere”
“Senna”
“Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy”
“Cave of Forgotten Dreams”
“Crazy, Stupid, Love.”

Read the full article
added 12/27/2011

Randy Myers (San Jose Mercury News)

“The Artist”
“Beginners”
“Moneyball”
“The Tree of Life”
“We Need to Talk About Kevin”
“50/50″
“Bridesmaids”
“The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”
“The Descendants”
“Hugo”

added 01/02/2012

Tim Sika (Celluloid Dreams)

“The Tree of Life”
“Hugo”
“Certified Copy”
“Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy”
“The Skin I Live In”
“Moneyball”
“Like Crazy”
“Carnage”
“Win Win”
“Beginners”

added 01/02/2012

Ruthe Stein (San Francisco Chronicle)

“The Descendants”
“Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy”
“Midnight in Paris”
“The Iron Lady”
“War Horse”
“The Artist”
“A Dangerous Method”
“Young Adult”
“Moneyball”
“Margin Call”

added 01/02/2012

Mel Valentin (VeryAware)

“The Tree of Life”
“Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy”
“Martha Marcy May Marlene”
“Melancholia”
“Drive”
“Rango”
“The Skin I Live In”
“Shame”
“Meek’s Cutoff”
“Into the Abyss”

Read the full article
added 01/02/2012

Kelly Vance (East Bay Express)

“Jane Eyre”
“The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975″
“Aurora”
“The Tree of Life”
“The Mill and the Cross”
“The Kid with a Bike”
“Melancholia”
“Mysteries of Lisbon”
“The Descendants”
“Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy”

Read the full article
added 01/02/2012

Sara Maria Vizcarrondo (BoxOffice.com)

“Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy”
“Tabloid”
“Certified Copy”
“Drive”
“No Strings Attached”
“Martha Marcy May Marlene”
“Rise of the Planet of the Apes”
“Fright Night”
“Love Exposure”
“Tucker and Dale vs. Evil”

added 12/27/2011

Richard Von Busack (San Jose Metro)

“Certified Copy”
“Pina”
“Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy”
“Jane Eyre”
“The Skin I Live In”
“Tree of Life”
“Melancholia”
“Into the Abyss”
“Margin Call”
“Coriolanus”

Runners up: “Mysteries of Lisbon,” “Moneyball,” “Hugo”

So unlike any movie around, it transcends listmania: “Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives.” Not merely from the other side of the world, it’s in a world of its own.

added 01/02/2012

Jan Wahl (KRON TV)

“Hugo”
“My Week with Marilyn”
“The Descendants”
“Midnight in Paris”
“50/50″
“Young Adult”
“Iron Lady”
“The Help”
“The Way”
“We Were Here”

added 01/02/2012