With the BAFTA’s (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) due to take place on the 13th February, the British film industry gets a chance to wave the flag for British talent and reward films from the rest of the world. The issue of what is or isn’t a British film depends upon the amount of British involvement but it is safe to say that Britain had a good year (apart from the UK Film Council getting axed).
Anyway, here’s what I think should win. When the results are read out on BBC One I’ll be able to compare and contrast. In the meantime I’ll probably change my mind after watching a few more films but first…
Really? What the hell?
I don’t understand how Jennifer Lawrence is not in the best actress category. Actually… where’s Winter’s Bone?
Nicholas Cage is overlooked for his performance in The Bad Lieutenant. He resurrected his film career and restored my faith in humanity.
No mention of The Illusionist even though it was animated in the UK.
Update: 16th Feb – Results are here
Best Film
Black Swan
True Grit
Inception
The King’s Speech
The Social Network
The King’s Speech is a brilliantly made film but I like the fact that Inception was much more intelligent and adventurous. It used the power of cinema to craft a spectacle that is really worth watching again and again.
Best director
Darren Aronofsky – Black Swan
David Fincher – The Social Network
Tom Hooper – The King’s Speech
Christopher Nolan – Inception
Danny Boyle – 127 Hours
I have yet to watch Black Swan so I am keeping an open mind but Christopher Nolan should get this for Inception. Unlike the Oscars, the BAFTA’s have recognised the fact that Inception needed a director with Nolan’s vision to create the spectacle of last year.
Best actor
Jesse Eisenberg – The Social Network
Colin Firth – The King’s Speech
James Franco – 127 Hours
Javier Bardem – Biutiful
Jeff Bridges – True Grit
The very English Colin Firth and his performance as the King of England. This is the British Academy of Film and Television. Okay, I’m being flippant but Firth brings so much power to the role and made me empathise with him and his travails.
Best actress
Annette Bening – The Kids Are All Right
Julianne Moore – The Kids Are All Right
Noomi Rapace – The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Natalie Portman – Black Swan
Hailee Steinfeld – True Grit
Noomi Rapace made a bi-sexual hacker something of a cultural icon. She went through some harrowing sexual assault scenes that made me look away. One question… Where’s Jennifer Lawrence.
Best supporting actor
Christian Bale – The Fighter
Pete Postlethwaite – The Town
Andrew Garfield – The Social Network
Mark Ruffalo – The Kids Are All Right
Geoffrey Rush – The King’s Speech
Andrew Garfield might be the next Spider Man but I will always remember him for “You Better Lawyer Up.” At the centre of the film was a guy who just burned all the relationships around him and Andrew Garfield’s performance made it even more poignant.
Best supporting actress
Amy Adams – The Fighter
Helena Bonham Carter – The King’s Speech
Barbara Hershey – Black Swan
Lesley Manville – Another Year
Miranda Richardson – Made in Dagenham
Ask me after I have watched Black Swan.
Outstanding British film
127 Hours
Another Year
Four Lions
The King’s Speech
Made in Dagenham
This is the film that all of Britain can get behind regardless of politics (unless you are a republican in which case try supporting a useful cause like Amnesty International or Oxfam).
Outstanding debut by a British writer, director or producer
The Arbor – Clio Bernard (director), Tracy O’Riordan (producer)
Exit Through The Gift Shop – Banksy (director), Jaimie D’Cruz (producer)
Four Lions – Chris Morris (director/writer)
Monsters – Gareth Edwards (director/writer)
Skeletons – Nick Whitfield (director/Writer)
Chris Morris is a comedy legend and Four Lions was great, slightly uneven. Gareth Edwards Monsters was a fantastic antidote to CGI sci-fi and the story of its making shows the director is a man of many talents. I figure that The Arbor is going to take this. Critics have been praising this since the London Film Festival and it has been described as the first film of the David Cameron (British Prime minister) era so you can see the importance attached to it. I haven’t seen it.
Best foreign language film
Biutiful – Mexico/Spain
The Secret in Their Eyes – Argentina
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo – Sweden
I Am Love – Italy
Of Gods and Men – France
I Am Love left me cold whilst The Secret in Their Eyes lacked tension. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, although harrowing in its depiction of sexual assault and followed by lacklustre follow-ups, was the most memorable out of all the non-English language films I had watched last year. And I saw quite a few.
Best animated feature film
Toy Story 3
How To Train Your Dragon
Despicable Me
Everybody else, go home. Hang on… Where’s The Illusionist? It’s a UK/France co-production. UK. It managed to get nominated for an Oscar but not a BAFTA. That waves the flag for UK films… Is it because the director is French?
Best original screenplay
Black Swan – Mark Heyman, Andres Heinz, John McLaughlin
The Fighter – Scott Silver, Paul Tamasy, Eric Johnson
Inception – Christopher Nolan
The Kids are All Right – Lisa Cholodenko, Stuart Blumberg
The King’s Speech – David Seidler
I think it’s fair to say that writing this must have been an effort beyond heroic. Give the man a medal.
Best adapted screenplay
127 Hours – Danny Boyle, Simon Beaufoy
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo – Rasmus Heisterberg, Nikolaj Arcel
The Social Network – Aaron Sorkin
Toy Story 3 – Michael Arndt
True Grit – Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
A film about Facebook and people arguing about it… and it was interesting. Who would have thought it could happen.
Best original score
127 Hours – AR Rahman
Alice in Wonderland – Danny Elfman
How To Train Your Dragon – John Powell
Inception – Hans Zimmer
The King’s Speech – Alexandre Desplat
Epic is a word that is used too much. It is essential here.
Cinematography
127 Hours
Black Swan
Inception
The King’s Speech
True Grit
I can’t decide this one.
Editing
127 Hours
Black Swan
Inception
The King’s Speech
The Social Network
Makes programming look exciting.
Production design
Alice in Wonderland
Black Swan
Inception
The King’s Speech
True Grit
British critics will love the heritage and regal nature of the design or go with the dreamscapes created for Inception. Both are worthy contenders.
Costume design
Alice in Wonderland
Black Swan
The King’s Speech
Made in Dagenham
True Grit
British period fashion, the critics will lap this up.
Sound
127 Hours
Black Swan
Inception
The King’s Speech
True Grit
A film where every cough and shuffle emphasises the embarrassment of the crowds listening to every stutter and throat spasm which conveys the struggle with a merciless speech impediment and every shout and swear word a glorious fight back.
Special Visual Effects
Alice in Wonderland
Black Swan
Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows: Part I
Inception
Toy Story 3
Corridor fight. Fold-up Paris. Need I say more… Repeating myself.
Make-up and hair
Alice in Wonderland
Black Swan
Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows: Part I
The King’s Speech
Made in Dagenham
Either Alice or The King should take this one.
Short animation
The Eagleman Stag
Matter Fisher
Thursday
Short film
Connect
Lin
Rite
Turning
Until The River Runs Red
Rising Star Award (voted for by the public – which normally means whoever is the biggest celebrity wins)
Gemma Arterton
Andrew Garfield
Tom Hardy
Aaron Johnson
Emma Stone
Tom Hardy? I like him. Aaron Johnson was pretty convincing as a comic-book geek. I love you Emma Stone but Andrew Garfield takes this for his performances in The Social Network and Red Riding. And Doctor Who.
If you’re still reading after all of this, here’s a reward…
Genkinahito 