'Manchester by the Sea,' 'Moonlight' take top honors from National Board of Review
Manchester by the Sea was named 2016's best film by the National Board of Review, raising the awards-season profile of Kenneth Lonergan's devastating family drama -- though the film has been destined for a date with the Academy Awards ever since its debut at Sundance.
The NBR on Tuesday also gave its Best Actor and Best Male Breakthrough Performance awards to Manchester stars Casey Affleck and Lucas Hedges, respectively, while writer-director Lonergan won Best Original Screenplay.
The honors -- something of an awards-season starting point along with the Gotham Awards and Independent Spirit nominations -- cement Affleck and Lonergan as Oscar frontrunners, and also lend Hedges some credibility as he tries to earn a slot in the ever-competitive supporting category.
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Moonlight also gained more momentum in the wake of its Best Feature win at the Gotham Awards, with Barry Jenkins taking home Best Director honors and Naomie Harris winning Best Supporting Actress.
The rest of the group's awards were spread out, with Amy Adams winning Best Actress for Arrival, bolstering her Oscar chances; Jeff Bridges winning Best Supporting Actor for Hell or High Water; young Royalty Hightower winning Best Female Breakthrough Performance for The Fits; and the writing team of Martin Scorsese and Jay Cocks winning Best Adapted Screenplay for Silence.
The latter award bodes well for Silence, which has yet to screen for most critics.
Elsewhere, Kubo and the Two Strings was named Best Animated Feature, Asghar Farhadi's Iranian drama The Salesman was selected as the year's Best Foreign Language Film, and Ezra Edelman's astounding O.J.: Made in America took home another Best Documentary prize.
Led by Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer and Janelle Monáe, the cast of Hidden Figures won the Best Ensemble award, and Trey Edward Shults' Krisha was named the Best Directorial Debut of 2016.
Finally, the documentary Cameraperson was given the NBR Freedom of Expression Award, and Peter Berg and Mark Wahlberg shared the Spotlight Award for their creative collaborations on Patriots Day and Deepwater Horizon.
The National Board of Review is voted on by a mixture of academics, cinephiles, and film professionals. The group typically has very good taste -- but it's not a great barometer for the Oscars.
For example, last year NBR named Mad Max: Fury Road as the year’s best film, but Spotlight won Best Picture at the Oscars. Past winners also include A Most Violent Year, Zero Dark Thirty, Her and The Social Network, none of which won Best Picture.
Read below for all the award winners as well as NBR's top films of the year.
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: Kenneth Lonergan, Manchester by the Sea
Best Adapted Screenplay: Jay Cocks and Martin Scorsese, Silence
Best Animated Feature: Kubo and the Two Strings
Breakthrough Performance (Male): Lucas Hedges, Manchester by the Sea
Breakthrough Performance (Female): Royalty Hightower, The Fits
Best Directorial Debut: Trey Edward Shults, Krisha
Best Foreign Language Film: The Salesman
Best Documentary: O.J.: Made in America
Best Ensemble: Hidden Figures
Spotlight Award: Creative Collaboration of Peter Berg and Mark Wahlberg
NBR Freedom of Expression Award: Cameraperson
Top 10 Films
Arrival Hacksaw Ridge Hail, Caesar! Hell or High Water Hidden Figures La La Land Moonlight Patriots Day Silence Sully
Top 10 Independent Films
20th Century Women Captain Fantastic Creative Control Eye in the Sky The Fits Green Room Hello, My Name is Doris Krisha Morris from America Sing Street
Top 5 Documentaries
De Palma The Eagle Huntress Gleason Life, Animated Miss Sharon Jones!
Top 5 Foreign Language Films
Elle The Handmaiden Julieta Land of Mine Neruda
