A Most Violent Year Is the National Board of Review’s Big Winner

Last year the National Board of Review decided that Her was the best film of 2013, and its choices this year were equally unconventional, as the Board gave the top prize to A Most Violent Year, which has flown slightly under the radar this awards season. The film’s stars, former Juilliard classmates Oscar Isaac and Jessica Chastain, also took home Best Actor and Best Supporting Actress, respectively (though Isaac had to share his award with Birdman’s Michael Keaton). Dang, and this was the week you benched Violent Year in your Oscar-season fantasy league, too.

The full list of  winners is below.

BEST FILM
A Most Violent Year

BEST DIRECTOR
Clint Eastwood, American Sniper

BEST ACTOR
Oscar Isaac, A Most Violent Year, and Michael Keaton, Birdman

BEST ACTRESS
Julianne Moore, Still Alice

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Edward Norton, Birdman

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Jessica Chastain,  A Most Violent Year

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, The Lego Movie

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Paul Thomas Anderson, Inherent Vice 

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
How to Train Your Dragon 2

BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE
Jack O’Connell, Starred Up and Unbroken

BEST DIRECTORIAL DEBUT
Gillian Robespierre, Obvious Child

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Wild Tales 

BEST DOCUMENTARY
Life Itself

WILLIAM K. EVERSON FILM HISTORY AWARD
Scott Eyman, biographer of John Wayne

BEST ENSEMBLE
Fury

SPOTLIGHT AWARD
Chris Rock, Top Five

NBR Freedom of Expression Award
Rosewater and Selma

TOP FILMS (in alphabetical order)
American Sniper
Birdman
Boyhood
Fury
Gone Girl
The Imitation Game
Inherent Vice
The Lego Movie
Nightcrawler
Unbroken

TOP 5 FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILMS (in alphabetical order)
Force Majeure
Gett: The Trial of Vivian Amsalem
Leviathan
Two Days, One Night
We Are the Best!

TOP 5 DOCUMENTARIES (in alphabetical order)
Art and Craft
Jodorowsky’s Dune
Keep On Keepin’ On
The Kill Team
Last Days in Vietnam 

TOP 10 INDEPENDENT FILMS
Blue Ruin
Locke
A Most Wanted Man
Mr. Turner
Obvious Child
The Skeleton Twins
Snowpiercer
Stand Clear of the Closing Doors
Starred Up
Still Alice