The nominees for the 8th St. Louis Film Critics Association Awards were announced on December 12, 2011.

Winners and nominees

Best Actor

George Clooney – The Descendants as Matt King

• Jean Dujardin – The Artist as George Valentin
• Michael Fassbender – Shame as Brandon Sullivan
• Ryan Gosling – Drive as The Driver (Runner-up)
• Gary Oldman – Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy as George Smiley
• Brad Pitt – Moneyball as Billy Beane

Best Actress

Rooney Mara – The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo as Lisbeth Salander

• Viola Davis – The Help as Aibileen Clarke
• Elizabeth Olsen – Martha Marcy May Marlene as Martha
• Saoirse Ronan – Hanna as Hanna
• Meryl Streep – The Iron Lady as Margaret Thatcher (Runners-up)
• Michelle Williams – My Week with Marilyn as Marilyn Monroe (Runners-up)

Best Animated Film

The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn

• Kung Fu Panda 2
• Puss in Boots
• Rango (Runner-up)
• Rio

Best Cinematography

• The Artist – Guillaume Schiffman
• Drive – Newton Thomas Sigel
• The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo – Jeff Cronenweth (Runners-up)

The Tree of Life – Emmanuel Lubezki

• War Horse – Janusz Kamiński (Runners-up)

Best Director

Michel Hazanavicius – The Artist

• David Fincher – The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
• Terrence Malick – The Tree of Life (Runner-up)
• Alexander Payne – The Descendants
• Nicolas Winding Refn – Drive

Best Documentary Film

Being Elmo: A Puppeteer's Journey

• Buck
• Conan O'Brien Can't Stop
• The Interrupters
• Tabloid (Runner-up)

Best Film

The Artist

• The Descendants (Runner-up)
• Drive
• My Week with Marilyn
• The Tree of Life

Best Comedy

Bridesmaids

• Crazy, Stupid, Love
• Midnight in Paris (Runner-up)
• The Muppets
• Paul
• Rango

Best Foreign Language Film

13 Assassins (Jūsannin no Shikaku) • Japan

• I Saw the Devil (Akmareul boattda) • South Korea
• Point Blank (À bout portant) • France
• Trollhunter (Trolljegeren) • Norway
• Winter in Wartime (Oorlogswinter) • Netherlands (Runner-up)

Best Music

The Artist

• Drive (Runner-up)
• The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
• The Muppets
• The Tree of Life

Best Original Screenplay

The Artist – Michel Hazanavicius

• 50/50 – Will Reiser (Runner-up)
• Hanna – Seth Lochhead and David Farr
• Midnight in Paris – Woody Allen
• The Tree of Life – Terrence Malick
• Win Win – Tom McCarthy and Joe Tiboni

Best Adapted Screenplay

The Descendants – Nat Faxon, Jim Rash and Alexander Payne

• Drive – Hossein Amini
• The Help – Tate Taylor
• Moneyball – Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin (Runner-up)
• The Muppets – Jason Segel and Nicholas Stoller

Best Supporting Actor

Albert Brooks – Drive as Bernie Rose

• John Goodman – The Artist as Al Zimmer
• John Hawkes – Martha Marcy May Marlene as Patrick
• Jonah Hill – Moneyball as Peter Brand
• Alan Rickman – Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 as Severus Snape (Runner-up)

Best Supporting Actress

Bérénice Bejo – The Artist as Peppy Miller

• Cate Blanchett – Hanna as Marissa
• Jessica Chastain – The Tree of Life as Mrs. O'Brien
• Octavia Spencer – The Help as Minny Jackson (Runners-up)
• Shailene Woodley – The Descendants as Alexandra King (Runners-up)

Best Visual Effects

• Captain America: The First Avenger

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2

• Rise of the Planet of the Apes (Runner-up)
• Super 8
• The Tree of Life

Best Art-House or Festival Film

• Beginners
• Martha Marcy May Marlene
• Tucker & Dale vs Evil

We Need to Talk About Kevin

• Win Win (Runner-up)

Best Scene (favorite movie scene or sequence)

• The Artist: dance scene finale (Runner-up)
• Drive: the elevator beating scene
• Drive: opening get-away scene

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo: opening credits

• Hanna: Hanna’s escape from captivity sequence
• Melancholia: the last scene