The publicists at Paramount might want to send the National Board of Review a thank-you card. Just one day before “Up in the Air” opens in select cities, the National Board of Review named the Jason Reitman dramedy its top film of the year, beating out other contenders such as “Invictus” and “Precious.” But at least Clint Eastwood can console himself with a spot in the top eleven as well as a win for himself as director and Morgan Freeman as best actor (in a tie with George Clooney for “Up in the Air”). “Precious” will have to be happy with a breakthrough performance award for the much heralded Gabourey Sidibe. Let’s hope “Precious” director Lee Daniels has a better handle on his emotions than his weepy audience members.
There are a few surprises in the list below (which we gleaned from the team at Indiewire), particularly the attention paid to smaller films like “The Messenger.” We loved Oren Moverman’s emotional drama, and apparently the National Board of Review did as well. We were a little less charmed by “(500) Days of Summer,” but it’s a nice counterpoint to the more traditional — but still well-earned — choices such as “A Serious Man” and “An Education.” “Star Trek” unsurprisingly earns the populist spot in the top eleven, which last year went to “The Dark Knight.”
Even though the last two National Board of Review favorites — “Slumdog Millionaire” and “No Country for Old Men” — have won Best Picture at the Oscars, fans of “The Hurt Locker” shouldn’t count Kathryn Bigelow’s thoughtful gut-punch of a thriller out just yet. The film won the top prize at the Gotham Awards earlier this week, so it should still be in the running for a Best Picture spot at the Academy Awards. Whew.
The full list of winners:
Best Film: “Up In The Air” Best Director: Clint Eastwood, “Invictus” Best Actor: Morgan Freeman, “Invictus” and George Clooney, “Up In The Air” (tie)
Best Actress: Carey Mulligan, “An Education” Best Supporting Actor: Woody Harrelson, “The Messenger” Best Supporting Actress: Anna Kendrick, “Up In The Air” Best Foreign Film: “A Prophet” Best Documentary: “The Cove” Best Animated Feature: “Up” Best Ensemble Cast: “It’s Complicated” Breakthrough Performance by an Actor: Jeremy Renner, “The Hurt Locker” Breakthrough Performance by an Actress: Gabourey Sidibe, “Precious” Spotlight Award for Best Directorial Debut: Duncan Jones, “Moon,” Oren Moverman, “The Messenger” and Marc Webb, “500 Days of Summer” (tie) Best Original Screenplay: Joel & Ethan Coen, “A Serious Man” Best Adapted Screenplay: Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner, “Up In The Air” Special Filmmaking Achievement Award: Wes Anderson, “The Fantastic Mr. Fox” William K. Everson Film History Award: Jean Picker Firstenberg NBR Freedom of Expression: “Burma Vj: Reporting From A Closed Country,” “Invictus,” “The Most Dangerous Man In America: Daniel Ellseberg And The Pentagon Papers” Top Eleven Films (In alphabetical order):
“An Education”
“(500) Days Of Summer”
“The Hurt Locker”
“Inglourious Basterds”
“Invictus”
“The Messenger”
“A Serious Man”
“Star Trek”
“Up”
“Up In The Air”
“Where The Wild Things Are” Top Ten Independent Films (In alphabetical order):
“Amreeka”
“District 9”
“Goodbye Solo”
“Humpday”
“In The Loop”
“Julia”
“Me And Orson Welles”
“Moon”
“Sugar”
“Two Lovers” Top Six Foreign Films (In alphabetical order):
“The Maid”
“A Prophet”
“Revanche”
“Song Of Sparrows”
“Three Monkeys”
“The White Ribbon” Top Six Documentary Films (In alphabetical order):
“Burma Vj: Reporting From A Closed Country”
“The Cove”
“Crude”
“Food, Inc.”
“Good Hair”
“The Most Dangerous Man In America: Daniel Ellsberg And The Pentagon Papers”