National Board of Review: "Zero Dark Thirty" Best Pic, Director, Actress

Kathryn Bigelow's "Zero Dark Thirty" has been named the best film of 2012 by the National Board of Review, adding a second award to go with the New York Film Critics Circle honor the gripping hunt-for-bin-Laden drama received on Monday. As Steve Pond reports at The Wrap, the win gives the film a significant early shot of momentum in the awards race. 


Three years ago, Bigelow's "The Hurt Locker" won the Oscar for Best Picture on the heels of a near-sweep through the critics' awards. This time around, she's no underdog; the National Board of Review also named Bigelow best director and bestowed best actress honors to Jessica Chastain, the suddenly immergent frontrunner for Best Actress. 

The NBR gave huge shots in the arm to the Oscar chances of Best Actor long shot Bradley Cooper, a surprise win keeping him firmly on the fence to take the fifth spot in the particularly competitive category, indie dark horse Ann Dowd for Best Supporting Actress in "Compliance," and Leonardo DiCaprio for Best Supporting Actor in "Django Unchained." 

The role of flamboyant plantation owner Calvin Candie in Quentin Tarantino's epic slavery-era Spaghetti western revenge saga is tailor-made for DiCaprio to chew every bit of scenery with reckless, sniveling abandon and supervillianous relish. I read the script over the summer and was floored, as Tarantino's typically profane visceral approach to the most shameful of chapters in American history fires on all cylinders (entertainment, provocative social commentary, literary historical genius) and DiCaprio's Calvin Candie is the most repugnantly cinematic villain maybe ever. DiCaprio has never won an Oscar despite several  previous nominations in both lead and supporting roles, from "What's Eating Gilbert Grape" to an inexplicable Best Actor nod for "Blood Diamond" rather than his other lead in 2006 Best Picture winner "The Departed."  With Oscar's infamously ass-kissing campaign king Harvey Weinstein handling PR (Weinstein Co. unleashes the ultraviolent "Django" wide on Christmas Day), odds are in DiCaprio's favor to finally take home the gold. 

The National Board of Review is notable for being the first announcing body of critics to award year-end honors for best in film (the NYFCC beat them to the punch this year but are much less influential in clarifying the big picture of the Oscar race) and also for naming a singularly distinguished Top 10 films of the year in addition to the traditional major categories. The NBR's top ten list always throws a couple of curve balls into the mix, and this year is no exception with "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" (is it the best teenage movie of all time?) and "Looper" granted accolades over presumed favorites "Life of Pi" and "The Master," which were both shut out entirely. 

Here's the full National Board of Review rundown: 

Best Film:  ZERO DARK THIRTY
Best Director: Kathryn Bigelow, ZERO DARK THIRTY
Best Actor: Bradley Cooper, SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK
Best Actress: Jessica Chastain, ZERO DARK THIRTY
Best Supporting Actor: Leonardo DiCaprio, DJANGO UNCHAINED
Best Supporting Actress: Ann Dowd, COMPLIANCE
Best Original Screenplay: Rian Johnson, LOOPER
Best Adapted Screenplay: David O Russell, SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK
Best Animated Feature: WRECK-IT RALPH
Special Achievement in Filmmaking: Ben Affleck, ARGO
Breakthrough Actor: Tom Holland, THE IMPOSSIBLE
Breakthrough Actress: Quvenzhané Wallis,  BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD
Best Directorial Debut: Benh Zeitlin, BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD
Best Foreign Language Film:  AMOUR
Best Documentary: SEARCHING FOR SUGARMAN
William K Everson Film History Award: 50 YEARS OF BOND FILMS
Best Ensemble: LES MISÉRABLES
Spotlight Award: John Goodman (ARGO, FLIGHT, PARANORMAN, TROUBLE WITH THE CURVE)
NBR Freedom of Expression Award: CENTRAL PARK FIVE
NBR Freedom of Expression Award: PROMISED LAND

Top Films
(in alphabetical order)

ARGO
BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD
DJANGO UNCHAINED
LES MISÉRABLES
LINCOLN
LOOPER
THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER
PROMISED LAND
SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK

Top 5 Foreign Language Films
(In Alphabetical Order)

BARBARA
THE INTOUCHABLES
THE KID WITH A BIKE
NO
WAR WITCH

Top 5 Documentaries
(In Alphabetical Order)

AI WEIWEI: NEVER SORRY
DETROPIA
THE GATEKEEPERS
THE INVISIBLE WAR
ONLY THE YOUNG

Top 10 Independent Films
(In Alphabetical Order)

ARBITRAGE
BERNIE
COMPLIANCE
END OF WATCH
HELLO I MUST BE GOING
LITTLE BIRDS
MOONRISE KINGDOM
ON THE ROAD
QUARTET
SLEEPWALK WITH ME