The National Board of Review has named the winners of their annual awards and Kenneth Lonergan’s acclaimed Manchester by the Sea topped the field. The film was named the Best Film of 2016 by the group, along with wins for Casey Affleck‘s lead performance, Lonergan’s original screenplay and a Breakthrough mention for rising actor Lucas Hedges. With this mention, the critics portion of the 2016 awards season is on its way, though its worth mentioning that the National Board of Review is not a critics group but instead a selective group comprised of film enthusiasts, filmmakers, industry professionals, academic and students.
The National Board of Review has distinctions for a number of reasons. Firstly, they’ve been around for over 100 years (nearly as long as the art form itself) and secondly, they are typically the first (or one of the first) groups to announce year-end awards annually which can be seen as advantage for certain movies and performances inkling for a piece of the awards season pie. Judging by the 2016 model, aside from Manchester by the Sea, other films that caught the attention of the group include Moonlight (picked as one of the ten best films of the year and cited for Barry Jenkins’ direction and Naomie Harris’ supporting performance), Hell or High Water (top ten mention and citiation for Jeff Bridges’ supporting role), Arrival (top ten and a Best Actress bid for Amy Adams) and Martin Scorsese’s late-breaking Silence (a top ten pick and awarded for its screenplay).
A couple of key omissions arouse a bit of curiosity. While current awards frontruner La La Land was named as one of the ten best films of the year, Damien Chazelle’s candy-colored musical romance failed to pick up single prize. Also notably left out were Denzel Washington’s Fences, Pablo Larrain’s Jackie and Garth Davis’ Lion. Last year, the National Board of Review picked Mad Max: Fury Road as their Best Film choice, a movie that went on to win 6 Academy Awards.
Check out the full list of winners below:
- BEST FILM: Manchester by the Sea
- BEST DIRECTOR: Barry Jenkins, Moonlight
- BEST ACTOR: Casey Affleck, Manchester by the Sea
- BEST ACTRESS: Amy Adams, Arrival
- BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Jeff Bridges, Hell or High Water
- BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Naomie Harris, Moonlight
- BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: Manchester by the Sea – Kenneth Lonergan
- BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: Silence – Jay Cocks, Martin Scorsese
- BEST ANIMATED FEATURE: Kubo and the Two Strings
- BEST DOCUMENTARY: O.J.: Made in America
- BEST FOREIGN FILM: The Salesman
- BEST ENSEMBLE: the cast of Hidden Figures
- BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMER (Male): Lucas Hedges, Manchester by the Sea
- BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMER (Female): Royalty Hightower, The Fits
- BEST DIRECTORIAL DEBUT: Trey Edward Shults, Krisha
- SPOTLIGHT AWARD: creative collaboration of Peter Berg and Mark Wahlberg
- NBR FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION AWARD: Cameraperson
TOP TEN FILMS OF 2016
- Arrival
- Hacksaw Ridge
- Hail, Caesar!
- Hell or High Water
- Hidden Figures
- La La Land
- Moonlight
- Patriot’s Day
- Silence
- Sully
TOP 5 FOREIGN FILM OF 2016
- Elle
- The Handmaiden
- Julieta
- Land of Mine
- Neruda
TOP 5 DOCUMENTARIES OF 2016
- De Palma
- The Eagle Huntress
- Gleason
- Life, Animated
- Miss Sharon Jones!
TOP 10 INDEPENDENT FILMS OF 2016
- 20th Century Women
- Captain Fantastic
- Creative Control
- Eye in the Sky
- The Fits
- Green Room
- Hello, My Name is Doris
- Krisa
- Morris from America
- Sing Street
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