Last year's British circuit was just dire, with "The King's Speech" blinding the market from the choices of logical thinking. This year brought us back to the class and quality we expect of the British cinema industry. But if there's anything that the British Independent Film Awards are commendable for, it's for putting Chris O'Dowd in the glorious hosting seat. Getting consistently more drunk with every second going by, the man was able to keep things at such a hilarious clip so as to not get sidetracked. He really stole the focus from the wonderful films being represented, which isn't at all a bad thing. He did what a good host should do. He took focus away from whatever disappointments there might have been.
But to be perfectly honest, there was nary a single disappointment in the pot this year. It was absolutely fantastic to see those deserving get appreciated, between "Tyrannosaur", "Shame", "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy", "Senna", and more. If nothing else, I'm beating myself up even more now for not having the chance to see "Weekend" yet. Along with "Tyrannosaur", it's placed towards the top of my hit list for the rest of the year. I was getting worried that "We Need to Talk About Kevin" would go on unnoticed for the evening, until Lynne Ramsay thankfully took Best Director. With all the focus on Tilda Swinton, it's easy to overlook Ramsay's absolutely brilliant work. Ultimately, the big winner ended up being "Tyrannosaur", with three wins before the evening was out, including the top prize. You can see the full list of winners after the jump!
Best Picture: "Tyrannosaur"
Best Director: Lynne Ramsay ("We Need to Talk About Kevin")
Best Actress: Olivia Colman ("Tyrannosaur")
Best Actor: Michael Fassbender ("Shame")
Best Supporting Actor: Michael Smiley ("Kill List")
Best Supporting Actress: Vanessa Redgrave ("Coriolanus")
Best Screenplay: "Submarine"
Best Debut Director: Paddy Considine ("Tyrannosaur")
Best Achievement in Production: "Weekend"
Technical Prize: "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" (Production Design)
Best Documentary: "Senna"
Most Promising Newcomer: Tom Cullen ("Weekend")
Best Foreign Film: "A Separation"
Best Short Film: "Chalk"
Variety Award: Kenneth Branagh
Richard Harris Award: Ralph Fiennes
Do you think its possible for at least one of these movies (specifically the smaller ones like Weekend and Tyrannosaur) to sneak into the Oscars? I'm reminded of the '10 ceremony when In the Loop, the british comedy that was ignored through a lot the precursers, got a surprise Oscar nod in screenplay. I'm just wondering if one of those can get in like that.
ReplyDeleteI'd consider a severely outside-the-ring possibility, more so for "Weekend", as it doesn't have as much buzz going its way as "Tyrannosaur". Even in that case, "Tyrannosaur" is aggressively subversive and counter-Academy. I'd consider Olivia Colman an outside chance for even a nomination. I'd be happy to see it there, but nothing's clinched.
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