The National Society of Film Critics is definitely not dull. Although we’ve seen Kirsten Dunst’s name crop up a handful of time, this is the first time the film has really been showcased, winning Best Picture by 1 point. Normally, I’d say it was a rebuke of the conventional The Tree of Life wisdom, but Terrence Malick’s film did quite well otherwise. Yet, when all is said and done, the rest of the roster is fairly rote by this point, with only the second and third place finishers giving us any interest and even those aren’t that interesting at times.

In addition to the nominees and/or winners listed below, this year, we’re giving you a quick background on each individual precursor including founding year, first awards year and a glimpse at how many predictions the group has gotten right in the last five years. This data can be found below.

Award Tallies

(4) The Tree of Life
(2) Melancholia / A Separation

The Awards

Best Picture

1. Melancholia (29 points)
2. The Tree of Life (28 points)
3. A Separation (20 points)

Best Director

1. Terrence Malick – The Tree of Life (31 points)
2. Martin Scorsese – Hugo (29 points)
3. Lars von Trier – Melancholia (23 points)

Best Actor

1. Brad Pitt – Moneyball / The Tree of Life (35 points)
2. Gary Oldman – Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (22 points)
3. Jean Dujardin – The Artist (19 points)

Best Actress

1. Kirsten Dunst – Melancholia (39 points)
2. Yun Jung-hee – Poetry (25 points)
3. Meryl Streep – The Iron Lady (20 points)

Best Supporting Actor

1. Albert Brooks – Drive (38 points)
2. Christopher Plummer – Beginners (24 points)
3. Patton Oswalt – Young Adult (19 points)

Best Supporting Actress

1. Jessica Chastain – The Help / Take Shelter / The Tree of Life (30 points)
2. Jeannie Berlin – Margaret (19 points)
3. Shailene Woodley – The Descendants (17 points)

Best Screenplay

1. A Separation (39 points)
2. Moneyball (22 points)
3. Midnight in Paris (16 points)

Best Cinematography

1. The Tree of Life (76 points)
2. Melancholia (41 points)
3. Hugo (33 points)

Best Foreign Language Film

1. A Separation (67 points)
2. Mysteries of Lisbon (28 points)
3. Le Havre (22 points)

Best Non-Fiction Film

1. Cave of Forgotten Dreams (35 points)
2. The Interrupters (26 points)
3. Into the Abyss (18 points)

Experimental Film

Ken Jacobs – Seeking the Monkey King

National Society of Film Critics Data

Year Founded: 1966
First Awards: 1966 (46)

Precursor Accuracy

KEY:

• Winner won the corresponding Oscar
• Winner was nominated for the corresponding Oscar
• Winner was not nominated for a corresponding Oscar
• Total (2010-2009-2008-2007-2006)

Picture: 1 (0-1-0-0-0) W / 3 (1-1-0-1-0) N / 2 (0-0-1-0-1) I
Director: 1 (0-1-0-0-0) W / 4 (1-1-0-1-1) N / 1 (0-0-1-0-0) I
Actor: 3 (0-0-1-1-1) W / 5 (1-1-1-1-1) N / 0 (0-0-0-0-0) I
Actress: 1 (0-0-0-0-1) W / 2 (0-0-0-1-1) N / 3 (1-1-1-0-0) I
Supporting Actor: 1 (0-1-0-0-0) W / 3 (1-1-0-1-0) N / 3 (0-1-1-0-1) I
Supporting Actress: 1 (0-1-0-0-0) W / 2 (0-1-0-1-0) N / 3 (1-0-1-0-1) I
Original/Adapted Screenplay: 1 (1-0-0-0-0) W / 5 (1-1-1-1-1) N / 0 (0-0-0-0-0) I
Cinematography: 1 (0-0-X-1-0) W / 4 (1-1-X-1-1) N / 0 (0-0-X-0-0) I
Foreign Language Film: 0 (0-0-X-0-X) W / 0 (0-0-X-0-X) N / 3 (1-1-X-1-X) I
Documentary Feature: 3 (1-0-1-0-1) W / 4 (1-0-1-1-1) N / 1 (0-1-0-0-0) I