National Board of Review names ‘Green Book’ year’s best film

NEW YORK — The feel-good roadtrip drama “Green Book” was named the best film of the year, and its star, Viggo Mortensen, best actor, by the National Board of Review in one of the first in a parade of awards season honors.

The NBR awards, announced Tuesday, gave the Oscar hopes of “Green Book” a jolt. The film, directed by Peter Farrelly (who typically makes broader comedies like “There’s Something About Mary” with his brother, Bobby) was declared an Oscar favorite after taking the audience award at the Toronto International Film Festival.

But in two weeks of release, it has struggled to latch on at the box office, and some critics have called its portrayal of race relations old-fashioned and criticized it for relying on “white savior” tropes. It stars Mahershala Ali as classical pianist Don Shirley, who tours the South in 1962 with an ItalianAmerican driver played by Mortensen.

Bradley Cooper’s lauded remake “A Star Is Born” also took several top awards, including best director for Cooper, best actress for Lady Gaga and best supporting actor for Sam Elliott.

Barry Jenkins’ James Baldwin adaptation “If Beale Street Could Talk” took prizes for Jenkins’ screenplay and for Regina King’s supporting performance.

Although it’s sometimes called an Oscar harbinger, the National Board of Review, a 109-year-old organization of film enthusiasts, academics and professionals, typically has deviated from eventual best picture winners. Last year, it chose Steven Spielberg’s “The Post.”