Awards Season Has Begun: The NBR Picks Hugo

Awards season is in full swing, and I couldn't be happier.  The next few months will be filled with campaigning, predictions, and by the time the Oscars roll around, probably a sense of anticlimax.  It seems that, by the time the various guilds are giving out their awards, everything is set.  Surprises are few and far between, although when they do pop up (such as Wally Pfister's win for Inception last year), they're certainly welcome.

This year, it looks like things might be different.  There isn't a clear front-runner at this point, though of course, it's also the first week of awards season proper.  The New York Film Critics clunkily announced their winners via Twitter a few days ago, picking The Artist as Best Picture.  Michael Hazanavicius's black-and-white, silent ode to the genesis of sound cinema has been winning heaps of praise from critics and audiences alike, and, if more critics' groups flock to it, could become an unstoppable crowd-pleasing front-runner in the vein of Slumdog Millionaire.

If the National Board of Review's awards are any indication, though, we may be in for a more interesting season than we're used to.  That's a pretty big if, as the NBR often seems to be operating on a wavelength all its own.  The group is normally the first out of the gate (the NYFCC announced earlier than usual this year, meaning some films weren't in contention for them, as is the case for the NBR, too), meaning that their choices tend to be unaffected by the groupthink that can easily set in once groups from around the nation start chiming in.  Last year was an exception, as the NBR was the first of many, many groups to (rightfully) crown The Social Network before things derailed with the guilds and The King's Speech rose to the Best Picture Oscar throne, a tragedy I won't soon forget.

If the NBR is a bit out there, at least they offer some fresh choices, and sometimes, they give credit where it's really due when no one else does.  Just last year, they gave Best Actress to Lesley Manville for Another Year, which was the best performance of the year, period.  Manville was largely ignored for the rest of the season, perhaps because the film wasn't widely seen, maybe because of category confusion (I picked her as Best Supporting Actress for my personal awards).  This year, the group has a similarly surprising Best Actress pick: Tilda Swinton for We Need to Talk About Kevin, in which she plays a grief-stricken mother whose son goes on a shooting spree at his school.  As past NBR winners have shown, this isn't necessarily a sign that Swinton will make it to the Oscars, but if she doesn't, it's nice to know her widely-acclaimed performance was rewarded by someone.

The Top 10 Films include a couple of surprises.  Drive might be too cool and bloody to make it to the Oscar race, but it's represented here, as is the final Harry Potter film, which Warner Bros. are campaigning for like mad.  J. Edgar is obviously included, since the NBR is obsessed with Clint Eastwood (they also included Hereafter in last year's list and picked Eastwood for Best Director for Invictus the year before).  Notable movies missing: Woody Allen's delightful Midnight in Paris and The Help, which claimed the prize for Best Ensemble.

Other interesting choices include 50/50 winning for Best Original Screenplay and Shailene Woodley taking Best Supporting Actress for her incredible turn in The Descendants, which also won a much-deserved award for Best Adapted Screenplay.

The biggest winner, though, taking Best Picture and Best Director, is Martin Scorsese's Hugo.  I remember when I first saw the trailer for Scorsese's adaptation of Brian Selznick's children's novel.  I thought it looked fun but a bit limp; it seemed to me that the movie would be fun family fare for the holidays and nothing more.  Shame on me for doubting Marty.  While I won't be seeing Hugo until Sunday, it sounds like the film is a natural project for Scorsese to take on, even considering his tendency toward darker material.  Scorsese is a huge proponent of film history and restoration, so it's only fitting that he would make a movie paying homage to the early days of cinema.  That the film is such a rousing success is no surprise, considering how deeply felt the subject matter is for its director.  I can't wait to see it.

So here we are, on the precipice of three months' worth of excitement, heartbreak, and head-scratching. Check out a full list of the NBR's winners below, and keep checking back for more awards news, predictions, and reactions throughout the season.

Best Film 
Hugo


Top 10 Films
The Artist
The Descendants
Drive
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II
The Ides of March
J. Edgar
The Tree of Life
War Horse


Best Director
Martin Scorsese, Hugo


Best Director
George Clooney, The Descendants


Best Actress
Tilda Swinton, We Need to Talk About Kevin


Best Supporting Actor
Christopher Plummer, Beginners


Best Supporting Actress
Shailene Woodley, The Descendants


Best Original Screenplay
Will Reiser, 50/50


Best Adapted Screenplay
Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, and Jim Rash, The Descendants


Best Ensemble Cast
The Help


Best Breakthrough Performance
Felicity Jones, Like Crazy and Rooney Mara, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo


Best Animated Feature
Rango


Best Debut Director
J.C. Chandor, Margin Call


Spotlight Award
Michael Fassbender, Jane Eyre, X-Men: First Class, A Dangerous Method, and Shame


NBR Freedom of Expression
Crime After Crime and Pariah


Special Achievement in Filmmaking
The Harry Potter franchise


Best Foreign Film
A Separation


Top 5 Foreign Films
13 Assassins
Elite Squad: The Enemy Within
Footnote
La Havre
Point Blank


Best Documentary
Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory


Top 5 Documentaries
Born to Be Wild
Buck
George Harrison: Living in a Material World
Project Nim
Senna


Top 10 Independent Films
50/50
Another Earth
Beginners
A Better Life
Cedar Rapids
Margin Call
Shame
Take Shelter
We Need to Talk About Kevin
Win Win