Paul Thomas Anderson and “Licorice Pizza” earn their first big wins of the season, as the National Board of Review adorns them with their top honors; Best Picture and Best Director. “King Richard” also comes in big, grabbing acting wins for both Will Smith and Aunjanue Ellis. Asghar Farhadi inches closer to more Oscar recognition as well, winning Best Original Screenplay and Best Foreign Language Film. We’ll see how many of these translate to Oscar nominations in the coming months.
BEST PICTURE
“Licorice Pizza”
Produced by Maggie Gyllenhaal, Osnat Handelsman Keren, Talia Kleinhendler, and Charles Dorfman
Netflix
BEST DIRECTOR
Paul Thomas Anderson
“Licorice Pizza”
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
BEST ACTOR
Will Smith
“King Richard”
Warner Bros. Pictures
BEST ACTRESS
Rachel Zegler
“West Side Story”
20th Century Studios
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Ciarán Hinds
“Belfast”
Focus Features
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Aunjanue Ellis
“King Richard”
Warner Bros. Pictures
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
“A Hero”
Asghar Farhadi
Amazon Studios
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
“The Tragedy of Macbeth”
Joel Coen
Adapted from “Macbeth” by William Shakespeare
A24
BEST BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE
Alana Haim & Cooper Hoffman
“Licorice Pizza”
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
BEST DIRECTORIAL DEBUT
Michael Sarnoski
“Pig”
Neon
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
“Encanto”
Directed by Jared Bush and Byron Howard
Walt Disney Pictures
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
“A Hero”
(Iran)
Directed by Asghar Farhadi
Amazon Studios
BEST DOCUMENTARY
“Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)”
Directed by Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson
Searchlight Pictures
BEST ENSEMBLE
“The Harder They Fall”
Cast: Jonathan Majors, Idris Elba, Zazie Beetz, Regina King, Delroy Lindo, Lakeith Stanfield, RJ Cyler, Danielle Deadwyler, Edi Gathegi, and Deon Cole
Directed by Jeymes Samuel
Netflix
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN CINEMATOGRAPHY
Bruno Delbonnel
“The Tragedy of Macbeth”
A24
NBR FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION AWARD
“Flee”
Directed by Jonas Poher Rasmussen
Neon
TOP FILMS
“Belfast”
(Focus Features)
“Don’t Look Up”
(Netflix)
“Dune”
(Warner Bros. Pictures)
“King Richard”
(Warner Bros. Pictures)
“The Last Duel”
(20th Century Studios)
“Nightmare Alley”
(Searchlight Pictures)
“Red Rocket”
(A24)
“The Tragedy of Macbeth”
(A24)
“West Side Story”
(20th Century Studios)
TOP 5 FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILMS
“Benedetta”
(IFC Films)
“Lamb”
(A24)
“Lingui, The Sacred Bonds”
(Mubi)
“Titane”
(Neon)
“The Worst Person in the World”
(Neon)
TOP 5 DOCUMENTARIES
“Ascension”
(MTV Documentary Films)
“Attica”
(Showtime Documentary Films)
“Flee”
(Neon)
“The Rescue”
(Greenwich Entertainment)
“Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain”
(Focus Features)
TOP 10 INDEPENDENT FILMS
“The Card Counter”
(Focus Features)
“C’mon C’mon”
(A24)
“CODA”
(Apple Original Films)
“The Green Knight”
(A24)
“Holler”
(IFC Films)
“Jockey”
(Sony Pictures Classics)
“Old Henry”
(SHOUT! STUDIOS)
“Pig”
(Neon)
“Shiva Baby”
(Utopia)
“The Souvenir Part II“
(A24)
QUICK LIST
Best Picture: “Licorice Pizza”
Best Director: Paul Thomas Anderson — “Licorice Pizza”
Best Actor: Will Smith — “King Richard”
Best Actress: Rachel Zegler — “West Side Story”
Best Supporting Actor: Ciarán Hinds — “Belfast”
Best Supporting Actress: Aunjanue Ellis — “King Richard”
Best Original Screenplay: “A Hero” — Asghar Farhadi
Best Adapted Screenplay: “The Tragedy of Macbeth” — Joel Coen
Breakthrough Performance: Alana Haim & Cooper Hoffman — “Licorice Pizza”
Best Directorial Debut: Michael Sarnoski — “Pig”
Best Animated Feature: “Encanto”
Best Foreign Language Film: “A Hero”
Best Documentary: “Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)”
Best Ensemble: “The Harder They Fall”
Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography: Bruno Delbonnel — “The Tragedy of Macbeth”
NBR Freedom of Expression Award: “Flee”
NATIONAL BOARD OF REVIEW
Founded in 1909 in New York City, the National Board of Review is one of the oldest organizations in the country “dedicated to discussing and selecting what its members regard as the best film works of each year.” This is the NBR’s 91st year of giving out awards. Pundits mark these awards as the official kick off to the Oscars season, with numerous critics groups following suit with their awards throughout the rest of the year. There are over 100 members of the NBR, including directors, academics, and film enthusiasts, who submit ballots which are then tabulated, with the winners announced online.
