The Toronto Film Critics Association has named Paul Thomas Anderson’s psychological period drama, The Master, the top film of 2012. In all, it nabbed four of the group’s top awards. Along with Best Picture, The Master took Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best Supporting Actor for Philip Seymour Hoffman.

In making their pick, the Toronto critics broke with some prominent reviewers in the US. Both the US National Board of Review and the New York Film Critics Circle snubbed The Master in favour of the film on the hunt for Osama bin Laden, Zero Dark Thirty. The New York group also handed multiple nods to Lincoln, while  the National Board of Review favoured Silver Linings Playbook.

But, over the weekend, the San Francisco Film Critics Circle also crowned The Master the best of 2012.

The Toronto prize will be presented at a gala dinner on January 8th, when the association will also announce the Rogers best Canadian film award, which carries a $100,000 purse.