The Oscar race is heating up as The National Board of Review for 2021 has named Licorice Pizza the Best Picture of the year and its director, Paul Thomas Anderson, as Best Director.
Licorice Pizza just recently ignited the specialty box office during the pandemic with an enormous per-screen average over Thanksgiving weekend which saw it have the best indie debut playing in just four locations. The film, loosely based on the teen acting life of producer Gary Goetzman during the 1970s, follows young Gary Valentine, who as he gets older, pivots toward using his money toward launching a waterbed business in the San Fernando Valley. The high-schooler falls for a slightly older girl in her 20s, Alana. The film stars indie rocker Alana Haim and Cooper Hoffman, who are fresh to the big screen, and the latter of which is the son of the late Philip Seymour Hoffman. Haim and Hoffman also earned NBR awards for Breakthrough Performance this year.
Also scoring with the National Board of Review were Will Smith for Best Actor for Warner Bros.’ King Richard; and newcomer Rachel Zegler for Best Actress for Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story. Zegler landed the role of Maria after seeing a notice on Twitter back in January 2018 for Latinx actors. The film is her feature debut and she represents a surprise last-minute addition to the Best Actress race as West Side Story’s review embargo was just recently lifted and the notices have been exceptionally glowing. As for Smith, he’s looking like the one to beat for Best Actor at this point with many pointing to Andrew Garfield’s heartfelt turn in Tick, Tick…Boom! as his closest competition. King Richard also scored a Best Supporting Actress win for Aunjanue Ellis who plays Oracene ‘Brandy’ Williams, Richard’s wife in the film. Focus Features’ Belfast from director Kenneth Branagh, inspired by his childhood, walked away with Best Supporting Actor for Ciarán Hinds who plays the filmmaker’s grandfather, Pop, in the black and white movie.
The group’s awards, which are decided by select film enthusiasts, filmmakers, professionals, academics, and students, typically doesn’t serve as an exact indicator for Best Picture at the Oscars. Last year, NBR named Spike Lee Best Director and his Netflix movie Da 5 Bloods as Best Film. That movie only went on to earn a Best Score Oscar Nomination. In 2018, NBR named Green Book as Best Film, representing the first time since 2008’s Slumdog Millionaire, that the organization chose a movie that ultimately won Best Picture at the Oscars.
Do YOU agree with their choice of Licorice Pizza as Best Picture of the year? You can check out the National Board of Reviews’ full list below!
Best Film: LICORICE PIZZA
Best Director: Paul Thomas Anderson, LICORICE PIZZA
Best Actor: Will Smith, KING RICHARD
Best Actress: Rachel Zegler, WEST SIDE STORY
Best Supporting Actor: Ciarán Hinds, BELFAST
Best Supporting Actress: Aunjanue Ellis, KING RICHARD
Best Original Screenplay: Asghar Farhadi, A HERO
Best Adapted Screenplay: Joel Coen, THE TRAGEDY OF MACBETH
Breakthrough Performance: Alana Haim & Cooper Hoffman, LICORICE PIZZA
Best Directorial Debut: Michael Sarnoski, PIG
Best Animated Feature: ENCANTO
Best Foreign Language Film: A HERO
Best Documentary: SUMMER OF SOUL (…OR, WHEN THE REVOLUTION COULD NOT BE TELEVISED)
Best Ensemble: THE HARDER THEY FALL
Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography: Bruno Delbonnel, THE TRAGEDY OF MACBETH
NBR Freedom of Expression Award: FLEE
Top Films (in alphabetical order)
Belfast
Don’t Look Up
Dune
King Richard
The Last Duel
Nightmare Alley
Red Rocket
The Tragedy of Macbeth
West Side Story
Top 5 Foreign Language Films (in alphabetical order)
Benedetta
Lamb
Lingui, The Sacred Bonds
Titane
The Worst Person in the World
Top 5 Documentaries (in alphabetical order)
Ascension
Attica
Flee
The Rescue
Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain
Top 10 Independent Films (in alphabetical order)
The Card Counter
C’mon C’mon
CODA
The Green Knight
Holler
Jockey
Old Henry
Pig
Shiva Baby
The Souvenir Part II
How do you feel about the National Board of Review’s honors for 2021?