--- description: National Board of Review names 'A Most Violent Year' the year's best film title: 'A Most Violent Year' Wins National Board of Review Honor image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4e5371903a5cf53b/69876bfb0b72e315076dc464/ap487102068594.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [movies](/tag/movies/) ## movies Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # _A Most Violent Year_ Wins Best Picture From National Board of Review  by [Daniel D'Addario](/author/daniel-daddario/)  ## Daniel D'Addario Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 2, 2014 9:57 PM CUT  Jessica Chastain arrives at the 6th annual Governors Awards at the Hollywood and Highland Center on Saturday, Nov. 8, 2014 in Los Angeles. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP) Jessica Chastain arrives at the 6th annual Governors Awards at the Hollywood and Highland Center on Saturday, Nov. 8, 2014 in Los Angeles. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)Chris Pizzello—Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP  by [Daniel D'Addario](/author/daniel-daddario/)  ## Daniel D'Addario Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 2, 2014 9:57 PM CUT The National Board of Review (NBR), an awards-giving body that’s part of the lengthy run-up to the Oscars, has given its best film prize to _A Most Violent Year_, director J.C. Chandor’s film about a husband and wife attempting, against great odds, to enter the heating-oil-delivery business. The film’s stars, Oscar Isaac and Jessica Chastain, also won Best Actor and Best Supporting Actress, respectively. It’s a splashy entry into the year-end conversation for _Year_, which has yet to open. Other prizes went to stars who have been widely mentioned in conjunction with year-end prizes. In the Best Actor race, Isaac tied with Michael Keaton for _Birdman_; that film’s Edward Norton won Best Supporting Actor, while Julianne Moore won Best Actress for playing an Alzheimer’s patient in _Still Alice_. Clint Eastwood won Best Director for his Chris Kyle biopic _American Sniper_. The screenplay prizes, though, went in unexpected directions that the Oscars may not follow: _The Lego Movie_ won Best Original Screenplay, while the Thomas Pynchon hippie-noir _Inherent Vice_ took Best Adapted Screenplay. The NBR is not one of the most widely-credentialed groups of critics (unlike the New York Film Critics Circle, who [gave their Best Film prize to ](https://time.com/3612281/boyhood-new-york-film-critics-circle-awards/ "undefined")[_Boyhood_](https://time.com/3612281/boyhood-new-york-film-critics-circle-awards/ "undefined")this week); the group is comprised of nebulously defined “film enthusiasts and professionals, academics, young filmmakers and students” and spreads the wealth with several awards, two top-ten lists for studio and independent films and two more top-five lists honoring foreign films and documentaries. And though the top film prize rarely matches the Oscars’ Best Picture honor (last doing so with 2008’s _Slumdog Millionaire_), it’s yet another window into what’s ahead as the film year draws to a close. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3614477/a-most-violent-year-best-picture-acting-awards-national-board-of-review/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3614477/a-most-violent-year-best-picture-acting-awards-national-board-of-review/"},"headline":"A Most Violent Year Wins Best Picture From National Board of Review","datePublished":"2014-12-02T21:57:43.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T02:30:57.928Z","description":"Jessica Chastain and Oscar Isaac win prizes for their roles in the period noir","url":"https://time.com/3614477/a-most-violent-year-best-picture-acting-awards-national-board-of-review/","keywords":["movies","Michael Keaton","Oscar Isaac","julianne moore","Jessica Chastain","birdman","American Sniper"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4e5371903a5cf53b/69876bfb0b72e315076dc464/ap487102068594.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Daniel D'Addario","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/daniel-daddario/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4e5371903a5cf53b/69876bfb0b72e315076dc464/ap487102068594.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Jessica Chastain","caption":"Jessica Chastain","creditText":"Chris Pizzello—Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/movies/","name":"movies"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3614477/a-most-violent-year-best-picture-acting-awards-national-board-of-review/","name":"A Most Violent Year Wins Best Picture From National Board of Review"}}]}] ```