Julie Christie was named best actress for her role in Sarah Polley's Away from Her in year-end picks by the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures, a U.S. group of film historians, students and educators.

Most of the honours, including best motion picture, went to the Coen brother's No Country for Old Men, but Diablo Cody, the stripper-turned-screenwriter who wrote Juno, by Montreal's Jason Reitman, picked up accolades for best screenwriter.

Julie Christie starred with Gordon Pinsent in Away from Her, about a woman stricken with Alzheimer's.
(Lionsgate Films/Associated Press)

Cody shared that honour with Nancy Oliver for Lars and the Real Girl.

Ellen Page, the Halifax-born actress who plays a pregnant teen in Juno was hailed for her acting talent.

Juno had been a contender for best film of the year, along with The Kite Runner, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, Atonement, The Bourne Ultimatum, The Bucket List, Into the Wild, Lars and the Real Girl, Michael Clayton and Sweeney Todd.

Christie won for her portrayal of a woman with Alzheimer's in Polley's acclaimed film, adapted from a short story by Alice Munro.

No Country for Old Men, a searing story about crime in southern Texas, was named best film and directors Joel and Ethan Coen were cited for best adapted screenplay and best ensemble cast.

No Country for Old Men was the top choice "because of the direction of the Coen brothers. I think it is one of the purest adaptations of a book, Cormac McCarthy's book," board president Annie Schulhof said Wednesday.

The film stars Josh Brolin as a Texan who stumbles on some money, Tommy Lee Jones as a principled sheriff and Javier Bardem as an unforgettable villain.

"The ensemble performances were absolutely extraordinary and it really talks about what happens when evil overrides good," Schulhof said.

Tim Burton won the best-director award for his screen version of the demon barber in Sweeney Todd and Ben Affleck was hailed as a debut director for Gone Baby Gone.

George Clooney, who plays a "fixer" at a New York law firm in Michael Clayton, took best actor's honours.

The group named The Diving Bell and the Butterfly best foreign-language film, Ratatouille, best animated film and Body of War, best documentary.

With files from the Associated Press