The "Wicked" workings of, you know who, the NBR!
Wednesday, December 4, 2024 at 9:53PM by Nathaniel R
Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba in "Wicked". © Universal Pictures
The National Board of Review has spoken. Though they once fought tooth and nail to be "first" they long ago ceded that title to the Gotham Awards who now announce their nominees a full two months before year's end. Crazy. It's one reason, at least, that earlier releases aren't totally doomed come awards season. So there's that. This year their secret membership roster must be eagerly awaited the 'sing along' version of Wicked that's coming this month; they've bestowed three awards on the phenomenally successful Broadway juggernaut turned blockbuster two-part movie: Best Film, Best Director, and a special prize for the leading actresses Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande. It's quite a tonal departure from their favourite film last year which was Killers of the Flower Moon. Or is it? Both films involve a smart woman who gets a little dumb when it comes to men with obviously shady intention who aren't half the person she is. A stretch, I know, but it's fun to amuse yourself with forced connections from one year to the next.
The NBR winners with commentary and trivia after the jump...
Best Film Wicked
Top 10 Films (alpha order)
- Anora
- Babygirl
- A Complete Unknown
- Conclave
- Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
- Gladiator II
- Juror #2
- Queer
- A Real Pain
- Sing Sing
It's always amusing that their top ten never includes their best film, which gives them a 'top 11'. To quote Spinal Tap "This one goes to 11"... The NBR choice almost always goes on to a Best Picture nomination but Wicked certainly didn't need their love to get there.
On a final note it is absolutely hilarious to see Juror #2 in here. While trying to guess what the NBR choices might be each year before their announcement is a fool's game (unpredictable), one guess that will almost never be wrong is that they will find a way to honor Clint Eastwood. I don't want to spend the time counting which of his pictures have been honored in some way but it's a whole helluva a lot of them, some of which were honored nowhere else.
Best Director Jon M Chu, Wicked
The NBR often goes their own way in this category -- only half of their choices go on to Oscar nominations historically speaking. But regardless I feel so vindicated about Jon M Chu, you know, because I nominated him right here for In the Heights and it was such a skill jump from the much more successful but also exciting and fun Crazy Rich Asians. Basically his movies are joyful. The shrug that In the Heights got from awards bodies and general audiences makes me fume to this day.
TRIVIA: Jon M Chu is only the fourth Asian filmmaker to win this prize after Akira Kurosawa twice (1951/1985), Ang Lee twice (1995/2005), and most recently Shekhar Kapur for Elizabeth (1998).
Best Actress Nicole Kidman, Babygirl
Nicole Kidman in "Babygirl" (Credit: Niko Tavernise)
I am DYING to see this. Why will no one invite me and why haven't I yet received a screener? Or is that screener sitting in my friends apartment (where I used to live) due to a mailing mishap. I have so many other screeners of less thrilling anticipation. Is my wait to see this movie a metaphor for the S&M relationship at the film's core?
This weekend I went to the movies with a group of close friends and Kidman's perpetual AMC shilling came on. I did my usual applause with an extra "My Queen!" at the screen and literally no one else in the crowded theater reacted. What a stuffy (Gladiator II) audience. At the theater I usually go to her pinstriped stroll through an empty theater ALWAYS gets applause and vocal responses from the audiences and I'm not usually even the first one to react.
Best Actor Daniel Craig, Queer
It'll be interesting to see how Daniel Craig fares this awards season. He's a big star playing against-type which usually helps a lot but on the other hand it's an unapologetically R rated very gay and very strange experience that's not likely to excite voters in other categories. It's rare for an NBR winner in this category to repeat at the Oscars but they are often nominated.
Best Supporting Actress Elle Fanning, A Complete Unknown
This one was the biggest surprise to me among their choices as I've heard approximately no one talking about her up until this point. Even the trailer leans heavily on the other supporting actress, the less famous Monica Barbaro who plays Joan Baez.
This prize, like Director, is one where the NBR will often go their own way. In the past 20 years of this category, for example, 7 of their winners failed to receive a follow-up a Oscar nod. In reverse chronological order they were: Janelle Monae (Glass Onion), Jessica Chastain (A Most Violent Year), Octavia Spencer (Fruitvale Station), Ann Dowd (Compliance), Shailene Woodley (The Descendants), Catherine O'Hara (For Your Consideration), and Gong Li (Memoirs of a Geisha). Only 4 of the NBR winners in the past 20 ceremonies repeated at the Oscars: Da'Vine Joy Randolph (The Holdovers), Youn Yuh-Jung (Minari), Regina King (If Beale Street Could Talk), and Penelope Cruz (Vicky Cristina Barcelona)
Best Supporting Actor Kieran Culkin, A Real Pain
Most of NBR's choices here land in the Oscar shortlist.
Best Ensemble Conclave
Ralph Fiennes in "Conclave" © Focus Features
Fun movie but Ralph Fiennes is working on such a higher level than anyone else in front of the camera that it seems like a strange choice for this prize, despite having a duly humongous cast.
Breakthrough Performance Mikey Madison, Anora
Such a fun star-is-born turn.
Best Directorial Debut India Donaldson, Good One
Best Original Screenplay Mike Leigh, Hard Truths
Mike Leigh always collecting those screenplay prizes despite or because of his famous and singular process of writing them through improvisatory collaboration with his actors
Best Adapted Screenplay Clint Bentley & Greg Kwedar, Sing Sing
Again, I'm a bit surprised at how well Sing Sing is doing. It's certainly a good picture but it didn't feel potent or unique enough in the summer, beyond the two central performances (at least to this viewer), to go the full awards season distance. I stand corrected!
NBR Spotlight Award Creative collaboration of Cynthia Erivo & Ariana Grande
Sneaky way to get this year's 'it' girls at your party, NBR. We see you.
NOSFERATU
Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography Jarin Blaschke, Nosferatu
I love Jarin Blaschke's filmography (thus far) but there are more exciting choices this year in Cinematography. This isn't The Lighthouse (2019) in terms of light and imagery is my point.
Outstanding Achievement in Stunt Artistry Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
Another award I can understand in theory but shrug at in reality. I know some critics loved Furiosa, but for these eyes it was a pale retread of its instant classic predecessor, Mad Max: Fury Road.
Best Animated Feature Flow
Yay!
Best International Feature The Seed of the Sacred Fig (Germany, Iran)
Top International Films
- All We Imagine as Light (France, India, Netherlands, Luxembourg)
- The Girl with the Needle (Denmark)
- I'm Still Here (Brazil)
- Santosh (UK)
- Universal Language (Canada)
Best Documentary Sugarcane
Top 5 Documentaries (alpha order)
- Black Box Diaries
- Dahomey
- Look Into My Eyes
- Super / Man The Christopher Reeve Story
- Will & Harper
Top 10 Independent Films (alpha order)
- Bird
- A Different Man
- Didi
- Ghostlight
- Good One
- Hard Truths
- His Three Daughters
- Love Lies Bleeding
- My Old Ass
- Thelma
A fun list! A Different Man is having a good week. I must make time this weekend to catch up with it.
FINAL NOTE: Here are some buzzy films that the NBR completely passed over despite having so many winners and citations were: The Brutalist, Challengers, Dune Part II, Nickel Boys, The Room Next Door, The Substance, and Italy's Vermiglio.
What do you make of this year's NBR choices?
Jon M Chu, NBR, Wicked, precursor awards
Reader Comments (18)
As a fan of Nicole’s from her days as a young actress on Aussie TV (I’m just one month younger and grew up on the opposite side of Sydney) and a long time reader of The Film Experience (hey Nathaniel, you never did finish that Moulin Rogue deep dive,) I’m was so happy to see Nicole back in the conversation and winning awards. I’m hoping this means an Oscar nomination is at least a possibility. From what I’ve heard of Baby Girl it really isn’t my thing, but I do admire Nicole for continuing to push the boundaries. I’m also glad to see Wicked do well though I don’t understand why Dune 2 isn’t on their list (or only no.11 here for that matter). Furiosa? I quite liked it but it was a disappointment compared to Fury Road. Gladiator 2? Ridley Scott jumped the Shark a while back and sadly he hasn’t landed those water skis as yet.
My two favourite films of the year are Dune 2 and Wicked so I hope to see plenty of nominations for both. Here in Australia, all the Oscarish films get released in January and I usually try to see as many as I can before Oscar night. Conclave, The Brutalist, Sing Sing, A Complete Unknown and Anora are top of my To See list.
Having just seen The Brutalist, I'm baffled by the omission.
You forgot Emilia Perez which also was omitted thus far.
Yeah, a bit worried about Emilia Perez - I'm not a huge fan overall, but the acting deserves recognition. At least we're already seeing some variance with The Brutalist scoring 2 big wins at NYFCC followed by a shutout @ NBR. Last year it was back-to-back winners (KOTFM, Gladstone) so I'll always take variety! Culkin is clearly steamrolling though
and....Elle Fanning? I'll save judgement until I see it but to Nathaniel's point, this was on literally no one's radar. I heard very slight buzz about Barbaro but nothing on Fanning. She's a great actress so I hope it's a worthy performance
I just wish Nicole would work less.
It all runs together. I feel like I’m beginning to read tics and imperfections of her weaker performances into her stronger performances. So when I see a clip from Babygirl, my brain experiences it as a bizarre deleted scene from A Family Affair. It’s like she’s been giving one long, wildly uneven performance of a contemporary woman with questionable hair for ten years.
I want to love Babygirl and hope I do! But there's so much noise around her talent/career that I'm finding it harder to detect the signal.
Did they forget Dune Part 2 came out this year? It's so superior to the two big sequels they nominated.
Given Warner's shameful treatment of Juror #2, I'm fine with it's inclusion here.
Nat what are you saying with the comment that "it's hilarious" the film Juror No 2 was included,are you saying that it doesn't deserve the citing or is it some Eastwood shade,have you seen the film,the NBR like Oscar have their pets too.
I've read and heard it's a fine well made film with solid performances esp Toni Collette's.
I hope it's more entertaining than 3 films on that list which I disliked.
"It’s like she’s been giving one long, wildly uneven performance of a contemporary woman with questionable hair for ten years." Hilarious!
Exactly what I have been experiencing with her since about 2017 and I used to adore her,probably why I warmed to Lee more than most as it was great to see Kate back to her best.
Jon M. Chu as Best Director, the guy who made such awful shit as those awful Justin Bieber documentaries, the bland sequel to Now You See Me, and the abomination that is Jem & the Holograms?
I've said it before and I'll say it again. Anytime Love Lies Bleeding gets even a crumb of awards attention, I'm celebrating. I love that film so much. I can't wait to see what Rose Glass does next. Between this and Saint Maud, she has me in her pocket forever.
Thrilled for Jon M. Chu and agree with everything you said about him including being eternally annoyed at audience whiffing it on the gorgeous IN THE HEIGHTS. Happy for his big success!
Highlights:
Kidman, My Muse, My Queen...
Culkin.
That's all I have to say about that.
I do wonder if part of the staying power of Sing Sing is that it's focused on artistry, something that critics and the industry may care a lot about. Both leads are obviously actors, but Divine G is also a writer. There's also something quite fun, in a really old-school cinema way, about seeing Divine Eye come into his own as an actor. I mean, Katharine Hepburn won her first Oscar for that.
I really hope that some industry groups start putting Culkin in Lead. I get the supporting argument for him, but I miss the old days when critics groups would push back against category fraud with their wins.
My take is that I can’t remember a worse set of winners (at least the top categories) in all the years of following these. I’m probably alone in that.
Thanks for the love for In the Heights. My favorite stage-to-film adaptation I've seen since Chicago. Such a creative and successfully executed use of the new medium to tell the original story authentically. It was depressingly ignored at year's end.
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Joe G -- you do get the argument? I haven't heard anyone make it yet but i'm curious as to what it actually is (that argument). I also miss the days when critics would push black.
I assumed from reviews that it was super balanced duet and then I actually watched it and I'm like 'holy hell. this might be the worse case of category fraud i've EVER seen.' Jesse Eisenberg's character is much closer to the kind of character people claim is supporting when it's a co-lead. If you accept the argument that films can only have one lead (I of course, don't) than that one lead is Culkin. The film begins and ends with his character and the entire movie, from conception to thrust of the plot and every incident as well as all ensemble scene work, even the one (?) scene Culkin is not in are EXPLICITLY about him. Even Eisenberg's character doesn't have an arc so much as a steady line of deferring to and trying to understand his "brother" cousin.
@Nathaniel R: I haven’t seen A Real Pain but as far as it being maybe the most egregious case of category fraud you’ve seen, how does it compare against Lakeith Stanfield’s Supporting Actor nomination for Judas & the Black Messiah? That’s the one that I personally don’t think will ever get topped.