Many armchair critics were surprised when the Boston Society of Film Critics picked the George Clooney/Jennifer Lopez crime romance "Out of Sight" as its Best Picture of the year on Sunday. Well, the film's triumph was a bit of a surprise to the Beantown critics, too. "It was a compromise," says Boston Phoenix critic Peter Keough. "I don't think it was a lot of people's first choice."

The Society's voting process is less straightforward than the traditional one person/one vote Oscar system. In the first round, each critic picks only one favorite film. A final list of nominees is then compiled, and each member votes for his or her top three choices. A first choice is worth three points, the second is worth two, and the third is worth one. While "The General," "Saving Private Ryan," and "Life is Beautiful" were many critics' passionate first choices, "Out of Sight" turned up more consistently in the middle of their picks, thereby quietly accruing more points. (The Steven Soderbergh-directed film beat second place "The General" by one point.) "Some people were rather amazed at what they had wrought," says Keough, "but I don't think anybody was too upset."

"Out of Sight" had been embraced by critics nationwide when it opened this summer, although audiences largely ignored it. (It grossed only $37.5 million, with a budget of $48 million.) Although many members of the Boston Society were disappointed that their first choice didn't win, they were pleased that they could reward a strong but underappreciated movie. "One of the things critics can do," says Boston Herald reviewer James Verniere, "is point out films that just don't get the sort of attention that a director like Steven Spielberg can get." (The Los Angeles Film Critics Association voted "Ryan" best picture Saturday.) "Our little organization isn't going to revive the life of a film on its own," adds Verniere. "But it might make that many more people give it a shot as a rental."

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