81st NBR Awards
January 12, 2010
----
Best Film:
'' Up in the Air''
The 81st
National Board of Review Awards
The National Board of Review of Motion Pictures is a non-profit organization of New York City area film enthusiasts. Its awards, which are announced in early December, are considered an early harbinger of the film awards season that culminat ...
, honoring the best in
film for
2009, are given on January 12, 2010.
Top Films
*''
Up in the Air''
[The NBR names its Best Film and then lists the remaining ten runners-up in alphabetical order.]
*''
(500) Days of Summer
''500 Days of Summer'' (stylized as ''(500) Days of Summer'') is a 2009 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Marc Webb from a screenplay written by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber, and produced by Mark Waters. The film stars ...
''
*''
An Education
''An Education'' is a 2009 coming-of-age drama film based on a memoir of the same name by British journalist Lynn Barber. The film was directed by Lone Scherfig from a screenplay by Nick Hornby. It stars Carey Mulligan as Jenny, a bright school ...
''
*''
The Hurt Locker
''The Hurt Locker'' is a 2008 American war thriller film directed by Kathryn Bigelow and written by Mark Boal. It stars Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie, Brian Geraghty, Christian Camargo, Ralph Fiennes, David Morse, and Guy Pearce. The film foll ...
''
*''
Inglourious Basterds
''Inglourious Basterds'' is a 2009 war film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, starring Brad Pitt, Christoph Waltz, Michael Fassbender, Eli Roth, Diane Kruger, Daniel Brühl, Til Schweiger and Mélanie Laurent. The film tells an altern ...
''
*''
''Invictus''''
*''
The Messenger''
*''
A Serious Man
''A Serious Man'' is a 2009 American black comedy-drama film written, produced, edited and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen. Set in 1967, the film stars Michael Stuhlbarg as a Minnesota Jewish man whose life crumbles both professionally and pe ...
''
*''
Star Trek''
*''
Up''
*''
Where the Wild Things Are
''Where the Wild Things Are'' is a 1963 children's picture book written and illustrated by American writer and illustrator Maurice Sendak, originally published in hardcover by Harper & Row. The book has been adapted into other media several tim ...
''
Top Foreign Films
*''
The Maid''
*''
Revanche''
*''
The Song of Sparrows''
*''
Three Monkeys''
*''
The White Ribbon
''The White Ribbon'' (german: Das weiße Band) is a 2009 German-language drama film, written and directed by Michael Haneke. Released in black-and-white, the film offers a dark depiction of society and family in a northern German village just be ...
''
Top Documentaries
*''
Burma VJ
''Burma VJ: Reporting from a Closed Country'' is a 2008 Danish documentary film directed by Anders Østergaard. It follows the Saffron Revolution against the military regime in Burma. The "VJ" in the title stands for "video journalists." Some of ...
'': Reporting From A Closed Country
*''
Crude''
*''
Food, Inc.''
*''
Good Hair''
*''
The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers''
Top Independent Films
*''
Amreeka
''Amreeka'' is a 2009, independent film written and directed by first-time director Cherien Dabis. It stars Nisreen Faour, Melkar Muallem, Hiam Abbass, Alia Shawkat, Yussuf Abu-Warda, Joseph Ziegler, and Miriam Smith.
''Amreeka'' documents the ...
''
*''
District 9
''District 9'' is a 2009 science fiction mockumentary film directed by Neill Blomkamp in his feature film debut, written by Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell, and produced by Peter Jackson and Carolynne Cunningham. It is a co-production of New Zea ...
''
*''
Goodbye Solo
''Goodbye Solo'' is a 2008 American independent film written and directed by Ramin Bahrani. It premiered as an official selection of the 2008 Venice Film Festival where it won the international film critic's FIPRESCI award for best film, and lat ...
''
*''
Humpday''
*''
In the Loop''
*''
Julia
Julia is usually a feminine given name. It is a Latinate feminine form of the name Julio and Julius. (For further details on etymology, see the Wiktionary entry "Julius".) The given name ''Julia'' had been in use throughout Late Antiquity (e.g ...
''
*''
Me and Orson Welles
''Me and Orson Welles'' is a 2008 period drama film directed by Richard Linklater and starring Zac Efron, Christian McKay, and Claire Danes. Based on Robert Kaplow's novel of the same name, the story, set in 1937 New York, tells of a teenager hir ...
''
*''
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...
''
*''
Sugar''
*''
Two Lovers''
Winners
*Best Film:
**''
Up in the Air''
*Best Foreign Language Film:
**''
A Prophet
''A Prophet'' (french: Un prophète) is a 2009 French prison crime film directed by Jacques Audiard with a screenplay by Audiard, with Thomas Bidegain, Abdel Raouf Dafri, and Nicolas Peufaillit, from a story by Dafri. The film stars Tahar Rahi ...
'',
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
*Best Animated Feature:
**''
Up''
*Best Documentary Feature:
**''
The Cove''
*Best Actor (tie):
**
Morgan Freeman - ''
Invictus''
**
George Clooney - ''
Up in the Air''
*Best Actress:
**
Carey Mulligan
Carey Hannah Mulligan (born 28 May 1985) is an English actress. She has received various accolades, including a British Academy Film Award, in addition to nominations for two Academy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, and a Tony Award.
Mulli ...
- ''
An Education
''An Education'' is a 2009 coming-of-age drama film based on a memoir of the same name by British journalist Lynn Barber. The film was directed by Lone Scherfig from a screenplay by Nick Hornby. It stars Carey Mulligan as Jenny, a bright school ...
''
*Best Supporting Actor:
**
Woody Harrelson
Woodrow Tracy Harrelson (born July 23, 1961) is an American actor and playwright. He is the recipient of various accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award and two Screen Actors Guild Awards, in addition to nominations for three Academy Award ...
- ''
The Messenger''
*Best Supporting Actress:
**
Anna Kendrick - ''
Up in the Air''
*Breakthrough Male Performances:
**
Jeremy Renner - ''
The Hurt Locker
''The Hurt Locker'' is a 2008 American war thriller film directed by Kathryn Bigelow and written by Mark Boal. It stars Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie, Brian Geraghty, Christian Camargo, Ralph Fiennes, David Morse, and Guy Pearce. The film foll ...
''
*Breakthrough Female Performances:
**
Gabourey Sidibe
Gabourey Sidibe ( ; born May 6, 1983) is an American actress. She made her acting debut in the 2009 film '' Precious'', a role that earned her the Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead, in addition to nominations for the Golden Globe an ...
- ''
Precious''
*Best Ensemble Cast:
**''
It's Complicated''
*Best Director:
**
Clint Eastwood - ''
Invictus''
*Best Directorial Debut (tie):
**
Duncan Jones
Duncan Zowie Haywood Jones (born 30 May 1971) is a British film director, film producer and screenwriter. He is best known for directing the films ''Moon'' (2009), ''Source Code'' (2011), ''Warcraft'' (2016), and ''Mute'' (2018). For ''Moon'', ...
- ''
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...
''
**
Oren Moverman
Oren Moverman ( he, אורן מוברמן; born July 4, 1966) is an Israeli-American Academy Award-nominated screenwriter, film director, and Emmy Award-winning film producer. He has directed the films '' The Messenger'', ''Rampart'', '' Time O ...
- ''
The Messenger''
**
Marc Webb - ''
(500) Days of Summer
''500 Days of Summer'' (stylized as ''(500) Days of Summer'') is a 2009 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Marc Webb from a screenplay written by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber, and produced by Mark Waters. The film stars ...
''
*Best Screenplay - Adapted:
**''
Up in the Air'' -
Jason Reitman and
Sheldon Turner
Sheldon Turner is a screenwriter and producer. His produced credits as a screenwriter include '' The Longest Yard'' (2005), '' The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning'' (2006), '' Up in the Air'' (2009) and '' X-Men: First Class'' (2011). He ...
*Best Screenplay - Original:
**''
A Serious Man
''A Serious Man'' is a 2009 American black comedy-drama film written, produced, edited and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen. Set in 1967, the film stars Michael Stuhlbarg as a Minnesota Jewish man whose life crumbles both professionally and pe ...
'' -
Joel and Ethan Coen
Joel Daniel Coen (born November 29, 1954) and Ethan Jesse Coen (born September 21, 1957),State of Minnesota. ''Minnesota Birth Index, 1935–2002''. Minnesota Department of Health. collectively known as the Coen brothers (), are American film ...
*Freedom of Expression Award (tie):
**''
Burma VJ: Reporting From A Closed Country''
**''
Invictus''
**''
The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers''
*Special Filmmaking Achievement Award:
**
Wes Anderson
Wesley Wales Anderson (born May 1, 1969) is an American filmmaker. His films are known for their eccentricity and unique visual and narrative styles. They often contain themes of grief, loss of innocence, and dysfunctional families. Cited by ...
- ''
Fantastic Mr. Fox
''Fantastic Mr Fox'' is a children's literature, children's novel written by British author Roald Dahl. It was published in 1970, by Allen & Unwin, George Allen & Unwin in the UK and Alfred A. Knopf in the U.S., with illustrations by Donald Ch ...
''
*William K. Everson Award for Film History:
**
Jean Picker Firstenberg
Jean Picker Firstenberg is an American who served as the President and CEO of the American Film Institute from 1980 through 2007. She was the Institute's second CEO and the only female to have held that title. At the time of her appointment, she ...
''
References
External links
{{NBR Awards Chron
2009
2009 film awards
2009 in American cinema