National Board of Review (NBR) Winners – THE POST wins Best Film, Actor, Actress; Gerwig is Best Director

The Post, Steven Spielberg’s timely journalism drama about the Washington Post picking up from The New York Times’ posting of The Pentagon Papers, has won the first major prize of awards season, the National Board of Review’s Best Film. Not just that, it also nabbed Best Actor and Best Actress wins for Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep. Each Oscar-winning stars had only one lead win from the NBR before today, and for their most iconic roles; Hanks for Forrest Gump and Streep for Sophie’s Choice. The film is set for limited release on December 22 by 20th Century Fox.

Their top 10 list managed to cover multiple genres, box office successes and films yet to be released, including Downsizing, Phantom Thread. Missing out, not just in the Top Films list but entirely, were The Shape of Water, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri and I, Tonya. The group’s Top Ten Independent Films were a truer sense of the phrase with titles like Beatriz at Dinner, Menashe and Wind River among them.

Call Me By Your Name‘s Timothée Chalamet won Breakthrough Performance, which begs the question – will he be seen in the same realm as Best Actor contenders as we move through awards season?

The two director prizes went to Jordan Peele for Get Out in Directorial Debut and Greta Gerwig for Lady Bird for Best Director.

Jane captured the Best Documentary prize, while Israel’s Oscar entry Foxtrot won Best Foreign Language Film. Coco won Best Animated Film.

Best Film

THE POST

Top Ten Films

BABY DRIVER, CALL ME BY YOUR NAME, THE DISASTER ARTIST, DOWNSIZING, DUNKIRK, THE FLORIDA PROJECT, GET OUT, LADY BIRD, LOGAN, PHANTOM THREAD

Best Director

Greta Gerwig – LADY BIRD

Best Directorial Debut

Jordan Peele – GET OUT

Best Actor

Tom Hanks – THE POST

Best Actress

Meryl Streep – THE POST

Best Supporting Actor

Willem Dafoe – THE FLORIDA PROJECT

Best Supporting Actress

Laurie Metcalf – LADY BIRD

Best Breakthrough Performance

Timothée Chalamet – CALL ME BY YOUR NAME

Best Ensemble Cast

GET OUT

Best Original Screenplay

PHANTOM THREAD

Best Adapted Screenplay

THE DISASTER ARTIST

Best Foreign Language Film

FOXTROT

Best Documentary

JANE

Best Animated Feature

COCO

Top Ten Independent Films

BEATRIZ AT DINNER, BRIGSBY BEAR, A GHOST STORY, LADY MACBETH, LOGAN LUCKY, LOVING VINCENT, MENASHE, NORMAN: THE MODERATE RISE AND TRAGIC FALL OF A NEW YORK FIXER, PATTI CAKE$, WIND RIVER

Top Five Foreign Language Films

A FANTASTIC WOMAN, FRANTZ, LOVELESS, SUMMER 1993, THE SQUARE

Top Five Documentaries

ABACUS: SMALL ENOUGH TO JAIL, BRIMSTONE & GLORY, ERIC CLAPTON: LIFE IN 12 BARS, FACES PLACES, HELL ON EARTH: THE FALL OF SYRIA AND THE RISE OF ISIS

Spotlight Award

Patty Jenkins and Gal Gadot – WONDER WOMAN

Freedom of Expression Award

FIRST THEY KILLED MY FATHER, directed by Angelina Jolie
LET IT FALL: LOS ANGELES 1982-1992, directed by John Ridley