by Peter Knegt The National Board of Review - arguably the first major Oscar precursor of the season - have handed out their 2009 awards, with Jason Reitman’s “Up In The Air” leading a surprising batch of honors, taking best picture, best actor (George Clooney, in a tie with “Invictus”‘s Morgan Freeman), best supporting actress (Anna Kendrick, profiled on indieWIRE today), and best adapted screenplay (Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner). Additional major winners included Clint Eastwood’s “Invictus,” which in addition to Freeman’s aforementioned honor, made the NBR’s top ten, and took awards for best director and NBR Freedom of _expression_; Oren Moverman’s “The Messenger,” which made the top ten list and won both best supporting actor for Woody Harrelson (in a surprise over “Inglourious Basterds”‘s Christoph Waltz), and a spotlight award for best directorial debut; and “An Education,” which also made the top ten, and won best actress for Carey Mulligan. In the foreign and doc categories, Jacques Audiard’s “A Prophet” and Louie Psihoyos’s “The Cove” were unsurprising winners, while an eclectic mix of films were part of the NBR’s curious “best independent film” list, from “Humpday” to “In The Loop,” to the surprising inclusion of “District 9” (which was considered an “independent film,” while “(500) Days of Summer” and “The Messenger” were placed in the general top ten list). The biggest shock of the announcement came not from the winners, but from the near complete shut-out of “Precious,” which did not make the top ten list and lost its expected supporting actress honor for Mo’Nique.  The film’s only win came with a breakthrough actress honor for Gabourey Sidibe. Other surprises included the complete omissions of Tom Ford’s “A Single Man,” Rob Marshall’s “Nine” and Peter Jackson’s “The Lovely Bones,” which were all snubbed from the NBR’s top ten list in favor of “(500) Days Of Summer,” “Star Trek,” and “Where The Wild Things Are,” which are each seen as considerable underdogs for major Academy attention. For the past two years, the winner of the NBR’s best picture award has gone on to win the top Academy Award. Last year, Clint Eastwood, Anne Hathaway, Josh Brolin and Penelope Cruz took acting honors, the latter three of which went on to Oscar nominations.  Cruz was the only double winner. Best Film: Up In The Air Best Director: Clint Eastwood, Invictus Best Actor: Morgan Freeman, Invictus and George Clooney, Up In The Air (tie) Best Actress: Carey Mulligan, An Education Best Supporting Actor: Woody Harrelson, The Messenger Best Supporting Actress: Anna Kendrick, Up In The Air Best Foreign Film: A Prophet Best Documentary: The Cove Best Animated Feature: Up Best Ensemble Cast: It’s Complicated Breakthrough Performance by an Actor: Jeremy Renner, The Hurt Locker Breakthrough Performance by an Actress: Gabourey Sidibe, Precious Spotlight Award for Best Directorial Debut: Duncan Jones, Moon, Oren Moverman, The Messenger and Marc Webb, 500 Days of Summer (tie) Best Original Screenplay: Joel & Ethan Coen, A Serious Man Best Adapted Screenplay: Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner, Up In The Air Special Filmmaking Achievement Award: Wes Anderson, The Fantastic Mr. Fox William K. Everson Film History Award: Jean Picker Firstenberg NBR Freedom of _expression_: Burma Vj: Reporting From A Closed Country, Invictus, The Most Dangerous Man In America: Daniel Ellseberg And The Pentagon Papers Top Eleven Films (In alphabetical order): An Education (500) Days Of Summer The Hurt Locker Inglourious Basterds Invictus The Messenger A Serious Man Star Trek Up Up In The Air Where The Wild Things Are Top Ten Independent Films (In alphabetical order): Amreeka District 9 Goodbye Solo Humpday In The Loop Julia Me And Orson Welles Moon Sugar Two Lovers Top Six Foreign Films (In alphabetical order): The Maid A Prophet Revanche Song Of Sparrows Three Monkeys The White Ribbon Top Six Documentary Films (In alphabetical order): Burma Vj: Reporting From A Closed Country The Cove Crude Food, Inc. Good Hair The Most Dangerous Man In America: Daniel Ellsberg And The Pentagon Papers http://www.indiewire.com/article/2009_national_board_of_review_winners/