The British Academy Film Awards took place last night in London’s Royal Opera House, the main results of which were as follows:
BEST FILM
The Hurt Locker
OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM
Fish Tank
LEADING ACTOR
Colin Firth, A Single Man
LEADING ACTRESS
Carey Mulligan, An Education
SUPPORTING ACTOR
Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds
SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Mo’nique, Precious: Based On The Novel Push By Sapphire
DIRECTOR
The Hurt Locker, Kathryn Bigelow
OUTSTANDING DEBUT BY A BRITISH WRITER, DIRECTOR OR PRODUCER
Duncan Jones, Moon (Director)
As you can see, the Academy certainly made an effort to praise its own, with both leading actor categories going to Brits in the form of Colin Firth (interesting fridge-based speech) and Carey Mulligan (highlighting a good night for An Education). Moon, a film many feared would be overlooked (and has been at the Oscars), also did well, scooping up the Outstanding Debut award for Duncan Jones (Director) who also claims the unofficial prize for best speech of the night (shame it was also the first).
Colin Firth’s victory could not have been called predictable but it was hardly surprising either, with many suggesting that the Brits would go for his performance in A Single Man whilst the Oscar seems destiny-bound to go to Jeff Bridges. Sandra Bullock, one of the most touted actresses to win the Leading Actress category at the Oscars next month, was not nominated here thanks to The Blind Side not having been released yet. Elsewhere, Up surprised nobody by taking Best Animated Film, though did also pick up a second award for Michael Giacchino’s excellent score.
The biggest story of the night was the haul of awards showered on Kathryn Bigelow’s The Hurt Locker, which trumped James Cameron’s Avatar in all the major categories. Whether or not this performance can be repeated at the Oscars we’ll have to wait and see, but she now seems even more of a shoe-in for Best Director. To close the ceremony, Prince William and Uma Thurman presented an emotional Vanessa Redgrave with the Academy Fellowship award, something she was clearly very proud to receive.