2020 has been an eventful year for the film industry, as it has faced many significant changes. While most theatres were closed throughout the majority of the year and many highly anticipated releases were postponed, 2020 was a very solid year for film all things considering and there are still a handful of spectacular films that deserve awards recognition. Despite a shifted eligibility date, online guild screenings and a remote Oscars broadcast, awards season has quickly adapted to the new climate and fortunately remains mostly in tact. The staff here at keithlovesmovies are following awards season closely this year, by covering all of the major precursors. and frequently providing our updated Oscar predictions. This is part seven of a regularly scheduled segment.
The National Board of Review (NBR) announced their awards, as well as their annual list of the best films of the year. NBR is a prestigious organization made up of select filmmakers, professionals, film enthusiasts and academics of varying ages and backgrounds, who come together and collectively honour the best that cinema had to offer throughout the past. While the NBR awards aren’t necessarily as accurate of a precursor as AFI, they are one of the oldest precursors and have been around almost as long as the Academy Awards, so in that respect they are certainly worth paying attention to.
The NBR and AFI usually overlap with a few exceptions, but this year their lists are vastly different. AFI presented a more accurate reflection of the films that have garnered awards consideration (with a few glaring snubs), but NBR has left out a few top tier contenders in favour of films that either seemed to be losing a significant amount of steam or were never serious contenders in the first place. Let’s take a look at the film’s that NBR chose to highlight, as well as the awards recipients.
Top 10 Films
- Da 5 Bloods
- First Cow
- The 40-Year-Old Version
- Judas & the Black Messiah
- The Midnight Sky
- Minari
- News of the World
- Nomadland
- Promising Young Woman
- Soul
- Sound of Metal
AWARD WINNERS
- Best Film: Da 5 Bloods
- Best Director: Spike Lee (Da 5 Bloods)
- Best Actor: Riz Ahmed (Sound of Metal)
- Best Actress: Carey Mulligan (Promising Young Woman)
- Best Supporting Actor: Paul Raci (Sound of Metal)
- Best Supporting Actress: Youn Yuh-Jung (Minari)
- Best Original Screenplay: Lee Isaac Chung (Minari)
- Best Adapted Screenplay: Paul Greengrass (News of the World)
- Best Animated Feature: Soul
- Best Breakthrough Performance: Sidney Flanigan (Never Rarely Sometimes Always)
- Best Directorial Debut: Channing Godfrey Peoples (Miss Juneteenth)
- Best Foreign Film: La Llorona
- Best Documentary: Time
- Best Ensemble:Da 5 Bloods
- NBR Freedom of Expression:One Night In Miami
- Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography: Joshua James Richards (Nomadland)
- NBR Icon Award: Chadwick Boseman
Unlike AFI, NBR awards one film with the title of “Best Picture”, in addition to their list. This year NBR went with Spike Lee’s “Da 5 Bloods”, a film that received a generally mixed reception from both critics and audiences, and seemed to fizzle out of the conversation shortly after its release. However, the film has started to gain some momentum, as it is starting to show up frequently at the critics awards and it received a mention on AFI’s list. NBR has shown a bias towards war movies in the past, but they have also snubbed Spike Lee on various occasions (Do the Right Thing and BlackKklansman did not make their list in their respective years). NBR rewarding Da 5 Bloods with their top prize is a huge deal, and it signifies that the film could be a far bigger contender than many initially predicted.
Outside of Da 5 Bloods, NBR revealed the 10 other films that made their prestigious list. NBR went in a more indie-centric direction this year, awarding critically acclaimed indies such as First Cow and The 40-Year-Old Version. The inclusion of First Cow makes sense, as Kelly Reichardt is a big name in the independent scene and it has been dominating the critics circles and indie precursors. That being said, the inclusion of Radha Blank’s Sundance hit The 40-Year-Old Version comes as a huge surprise and begs the question whether we are underestimating it in the Best Original Screenplay category, and possibly in the comedy categories at the Golden Globes.
Judas & the Black Messiah shows up once again, solidifying itself as a major threat in the Best Picture race. It has not been eligible for most of the critics circles awards, so it’s hard to tell whether it was going to be a major contender, but considering it was on both AFI and NBR’s respective lists, it’s safe to say it will be in play. George Clooney’s space-adventure The Midnight Sky definitely comes as a shock, as the film has not played well with critics or audiences. I’m assuming this is an anomaly and it will still only be a technical contender at the Oscars. Minari made the list, showing that it has passionate industry support and solidifying itself as a near-lock for a Best Picture nomination. Minari also won the awards for Best Original Screenplay (Lee Isaac Chung) and Best Supporting Actress (Youn Yuh-Jung).
Many Oscars enthusiasts believed that Paul Greengrass’ big-budget western News of the World was completely out of the conversation for the major categories at this point, but NBR including it on their list and awarding it Best Adapted Screenplay says otherwise. Nomadland hasn’t missed a single awards its been predicted for, so seeing it here is no surprise. Promising Young Woman missed out on AFI, but seeing it show up here and win Best Actress for Carey Mulligan, reinstates my confidence in the film’s awards chances. Soul seems to have a lot of industry support and NBR are known for awarding animated films, so seeing it show up here is no surprise. Sound of Metal making both AFI and NBR’s lists is a big deal and suggests that the film may have a serious chance to slip into the Best Picture lineup at the Oscars. The film also won the awards for Best Actor (Riz Ahmed) and Best Supporting Actor (Paul Raci).
NBR excluded some major contenders including Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, The Father, Mank, The Trial of the Chicago 7 and One Night In Miami (which did show up in some capacity, winning the Freedom of Expression Award). With the exception of Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (which has been dominant across the board and has already solidified itself as a strong contender), the one thing these films have in common is that they have been underperforming at the critics awards. Whether or not this indicates that we may be overestimating these films and underestimating some surging indies is uncertain, but their exclusion is definitely alarming.
Aside from their main list, NBR also released a few separate lists honouring the year’s best Documentaries, Foreign Language Films and Independent Films.
Top Foreign Films
- La Llorona
- Apples
- Collective
- Dear Comrades!
- The Mole Agent
- Night of the Kings
Top Documentaries
- La Llorona
- All In: The Fight For Democracy
- Boys State
- Dick Johnson in Dead
- Miss Americana
- The Truffle Hunters
Top Independent Films
- The Climb
- Driveways
- Farewell Amor
- Miss Juneteenth
- The Nest
- Never Rarely Sometimes Always
- The Outpost
- Relic
- Saint Frances
- Wolfwalkers
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