'Killers of the Flower Moon' named best film of 2023 by National Board of Review

NEW YORK (AP) — “Killers of the Flower Moon” was named the best film of the year by the National Board of Review, adding to the early awards-season haul of Martin Scorsese's Osage epic.

The National Board of Review, a long-running organization comprised of film enthusiasts and academics, also on Wednesday named Scorsese best director and Lily Gladstone best actress. That follows recent honors for the film and for Gladstone from the New York Film Critics Circle and the Gotham Awards.

“Killers of the Flower Moon is a stunning masterpiece from one of our greatest filmmakers, Martin Scorsese. The NBR is proud to award this complex, important, and deeply resonant epic as our best film and Scorsese as our best director,” Annie Schulhof, president of the board, said in a statement.

Alexander Payne's “The Holdovers” was also roundly honored by the group, which named Paul Giamatti best actor, Da'Vine Joy Randolph best supporting actress and David Hemingson's script best screenplay. Payne's film is set at a New England boarding school over the holiday break in the 1970s.

Yorgos Lanthimos' dark fantasy “Poor Things” came away with multiple awards, too. Mark Ruffalo was named best supporting actor, while Tony McNamara's script, from Alasdair Gray's 1992 novel, was honored for best adapted screenplay.

Bradley Cooper, star, co-writer and director of the Leonard Bernstein biopic “Maestro," will be given the NBR Icon award. The awards will be presented to winners in a New York ceremony on Jan. 11, hosted by Willie Geist.

Other winners include: Teyana Taylor ("A Thousand and One") for breakthrough performance; Celine Song ("Past Lives") for directorial debut; “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” for animated feature; “Anatomy of a Fall” for international film; “Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie” for documentary; and the cast of “The Iron Claw” for best ensemble.

Additionally, Rodrigo Prieto, the cinematographer of both “Killers of the Flower Moon” and “Barbie,” will be honored for outstanding achievement in cinematography.

Last year, the National Board of Review named “Top Gun: Maverick” best film.