National Board of Review Rundown

The National Board of Review is the first group out of the gate, per usual, and their picks this year are surprisingly in-line with the larger awards picture.  Usually the NBR is a bit out-there (such as including The Bucket List in their Top 10 while excluding There Will Be Blood), and while there are a few glaring omissions this year, as well, most of the surprises are of a more pleasant variety.

The Social Network dominated.  This is a good and bad thing.  It's good because, simply, the film deserves every ounce of admiration and word of praise coming its way.  It is a perfect film, and each aspect is handled flawlessly, as reflected in its slew of prizes today: in addition to taking home Best Picture, David Fincher won Best Director, Jesse Eisenberg pulled a surprise win for Best Actor, solidifying his spot in the race; and Aaron Sorkin won for his Adapted Screenplay, the best part of the film.

How can winning these prizes be bad?  It's dangerous for a film to get all of its buzz and heat too early in awards season.  Just look at Up in the Air, last year's NBR pick.  It rode a wave of raves through the autumnal festival circuit, exploded onto the scene with its wins from the NBR (including the Supporting Actress prize for the lovely Anna Kendrick), then limped to the Oscars, where it went home empty-handed.  The film hit its peak too early in the season; by the time the Big Show rolled around, the drama surrounding Jason Reitman's feud with co-writer Sheldon Turner had killed the film's seemingly sure-thing run at winning the Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar.  Simply put, the NBR is often way off, as was the case last year, in which none of the winners went on to repeat at the Oscars (though most were at least nominated, Clint Eastwood being the exception).

Of course, this need not apply to The Social Network.  While the NBR is a bit wacky, they have matched with the Best Picture Oscar winner on a number of occasions, as well, and it seems like this year, that could be the case.  The Social Network is simply too good to be discounted, regardless of precursor madness.  The slew of awards also bodes well: The Social Network isn't a one-hit wonder, but a well-rounded masterpiece.  It's hard to imagine Academy voters being turned-off by the lack of emotion when the film is so masterfully made.

The winning actresses are surprises, too.  Jackie Weaver's win for her supporting role in the acclaimed Australian crime flick Animal Kingdom could mean that the film won't be forgotten by other groups.  With such strong reviews and, now, a precedent of winning awards, the film might have a presence.  Lesley Manville's work in Another Year, likewise, has gotten universally great reviews, the big question being whether she was a contender for Best Actress of Best Supporting Actress.  This win doesn't really settle the debate in any way; the Academy will put an actor or actress in the category they see fit, as shown by Kate Winslet's leading win for The Reader.

Christian Bale's win for The Fighter isn't too surprising; at this point, it looks like a two-horse race between Bale and Geoffrey Rush for The King's Speech.  As I said before, last year's batch of acting winners - George Clooney, Morgan Freeman, Carey Mulligan, Woody Harrelson, and Anna Kendrick - failed to take home Oscars, so the NBR's picks can't be considered front-runners in any way, but they should all at least stand a better chance of scoring nominations.

The biggest surprise, as far as I'm concerned, is the Best Original Screenplay win for Buried's Chris Sparling.  The film came and went without making any sort of meaningful impression, so to see it win in a major category (one where I wouldn't even think to give it a dark horse slot) is a big surprise, and likely an instance of NBR randomness that won't be repeated elsewhere.

Toy Story 3 and Waiting for "Superman"'s wins for animation and documentary will likely be repeated over and over again as various critics groups announce, both deservedly so.  Each is a strong representative of its medium or genre at its finest.  I'm glad to see Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work and A Film Unfinished among the documentaries mentioned in the Top 5, as well.

The Top Ten films is where we run into some problems.  Three big Oscar contenders are overlooked: Black Swan, 127 Hours, and The Kids Are All Right.  It's unlikely any of these will fail to gain Best Picture nominations, but it's always upsetting to see deserving films left on the sidelines, especially considering the latter two are both among my personal top five for the year right now, which Black Swan might also join when I get to see it in a couple weeks.

What films got their spots?  Not surprisingly, Hereafter made the list.  The NBR has a huge hard-on for Clint Eastwood, as demonstrated by his Best Director win for Invictus last year - a totally undeserved honor.  Shutter Island also made the cut, surprising because it was released so early in the year.  Films from the year's first half rarely make it far in the awards race, but when it's a big financial success directed by none other than Martin Scorsese, you can't really argue about generic expectations or release windows.  The Town's inclusion is mildly surprising, but it seems like a definite possibility for a Best Picture nomination, and its Best Ensemble win here is certainly a better choice than It's Complicated (really?) last year.



Overall, I'm much more satisfied with this year's NBR than last year's.  The surprises didn't rile me up in any meaningful way, and, most importantly, The Social Network received honors that it deserves.  For the first time in my years as a serious cinephile, my favorite movie of the year is also considered the best of the year, and it's giving me a warm, tingly feeling.

The complete list of winners:

Best Picture: The Social Network
Best Director: David Fincher, The Social Network
Best Actor: Jesse Eisenberg, The Social Network
Best Actress: Lesley Manville, Another Year
Best Supporting Actor: Christian Bale, The Fighter
Best Supporting Actress: Jackie Weaver, Animal Kingdom
Best Original Screenplay: Chris Sparling, Buried
Best Adapted Screenplay: Aaron Sorkin, The Social Network
Best Animated Feature: Toy Story 3
Best Documentary: Waiting for "Superman"
Best Foreign Language Film: Of Gods and Men
Best Ensemble Cast: The Town
Breakthrough Performance: Jennifer Lawrence, Winter's Bone
Debut Directors: Sebastian Junger and Tim Hetherington, Restrepo
Spotlight Award: Sylvain Chomet and Jacques Tati, The Illusionist
Special Filmmaking Achievement Award: Sofia Coppola, Somewhere
William K. Everson Film History Award: Leonard Maltin
NBR Freedom of Expression: Fair Game, Howl, Conviction
Production Design Award: Dante Ferretti, Shutter Island


Ten Best Films
Another Year
The Fighter
Hereafter
Inception
The King's Speech
Shutter Island
The Town
Toy Story 3
True Grit
Winter's Bone


Five Best Foreign Language Films
I Am Love
Incendies
Life, Above All
Soul Kitchen
White Material


Five Best Documentaries
A Film Unfinished
Inside Job
Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work
Restrepo
The Tillman Story