Doubt Wins Two National Board of Review Awards

The film version of Doubt, starring Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Amy Adams, received two awards from the National Board of Review — for Best Ensemble Cast and for Best Breakthrough Performance for an Actress to Tony Award winner Viola Davis, who plays the role of Mrs. Miller.

The group gave its Best Film award to Slumdog Millionaire, while its Top Ten Films list includes Burn After Reading, Changeling, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Dark Knight, Defiance, Frost/Nixon, Gran Torino, Milk, The Wrestler, and Wall-E, which was also named Animated Feature.

The film Trumbo was given the Bulgari Award for Freedom of Expression; Mongol was named Best Foreign Film; and Man on Wire was named Best Documentary.

Other acting honors went to Clint Eastwood (Gran Torino), Anne Hathaway (Rachel Getting Married), Josh Brolin (MIlk), Penelope Cruz (Vicki Cristina Barcelona), Dev Patel (Slumdog Millionaire), Melissa Leo (Frozen River), and Richard Jenkins (The Visitor).

David Fincher was named Best Director for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button; Courtney Hunt was awarded Best Directorial Debut for Frozen River, and Best Screenplay awards were given to Nick Schenk for Gran Torino, Simon Beaufoy for Slumdog Millionaire, and Eric Roth for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

The awards will be formally presented at the National Board of Review’s gala on January 14 at Cipriani 42nd Street, to be hosted by Whoopi Goldberg.