More Flowers
Another year, another BAFTAs. With British independent cinema in better health than ever, and thriving international film culture on home turf, there’s never been a better time to celebrate the UK’s most glittering night of the year. Here’s how Ella Kemp thinks it could go.
Although many great films have been recognised and celebrated this year, there is always room for improvement. We need more women, more people of colour, more stories that represent the full variety of the country and world we live in.
But awards do still have power, in terms of platforming otherwise unheard voices, or giving credit where credit is due, years or decades later. The night might not go exactly as we’d like – so here’s a rundown of what’s likely, and what’s really, wholly deserved.
Best Film
Will win: All Quiet On The Western Front
Awards bodies just love a war film. This one is a good one, but it feels like a safe bet in the wake of 1917 to have another World War I film monopolise love and attention, however immersive it may be.
Should win: The Banshees Of Inisherin
How exciting would it be for the most prestigious organisation in the country to reward a little film about two Irish guys who can’t figure out how to be mates anymore? Martin McDonagh’s black comedy is deceptively complex, but the subject matter is still thrillingly uncinematic. A wild card.
Best Director
Will win: Todd Field (Tár)
Should win: Gina Prince-Bythewood (The Woman King)
Look, I know the Oscars aren’t for another month but it’s worth repeating right here that Gina Prince-Bythewood should have been nominated. Anyway, the BAFTAs did the right thing, as The Woman King could not have been directed with such vim and fire as Prince-Bythewood did – few people make films like this anymore. Field did a tremendous job on Tár, but even a film as knotty and rich as that feels like a more cautious bet than The Woman King. Let it rip.
Best Actress
Will win: Cate Blanchett, Tár
Should win: Danielle Deadwyler, Till
I say this with love: Cate Blanchett has enough. Lydia Tár may well be one of the most detestable and fascinating characters of her career, but what Danielle Deadwyler does in Till is like a shot of lightning. So rare is a performance so focused, incandescent and moving, without taking on the responsibility of anything theatrical or inflammatory. She’s a mum, and that’s enough.
Best Actor
Will win: Colin Farrell, The Banshees Of Inisherin
Should win: Paul Mescal, Aftersun
I could never pretend to be upset with Colin Farrell, who remains the single greatest eyebrow contortionist the world has ever seen. His work in Banshees is funny and devastating, subtle and hugely entertaining – but then there’s Paul Mescal. A revelation as a young dad in Aftersun, there is so much wisdom and sadness bottled in his performance. The kind of talent that only comes along once every generation.
Best Supporting Actress
Will win: Jamie Lee Curtis, Everything Everywhere All At Once
Should win: Dolly De Leon, Triangle Of Sadness
It is so easy to love Jamie Lee Curtis, and it has been for decades – although the crescendo of comedy and tension in Dolly De Leon’s scene-stealing turn in Triangle Of Sadness feels close to genius. Curtis, well, fully supports Michelle Yeoh, whereas De Leon gradually steers the ship. It has to be seen to be believed.
Best Supporting Actor
Will win: Ke Huy Quan, Everything Everywhere All At Once
Should win: Ke Huy Quan, Everything Everywhere All At Once
Sometimes, there really is a good reason for a narrative. Ke Huy Quan thought he’d never work again after a brief stint as a child actor, but his turn as Waymond Wang holds so much vulnerability and softness, without sacrificing the impact, that you can tell it’s the result of years, decades of waiting. Let the man finally realise how good he is.
Outstanding British Film
Will win: Aftersun
Should win: Aftersun
This one should be a bit of a no-brainer: Charlotte Wells’ feature directorial debut is breathtaking in its intimacy, but also in the raw power that so many around the world have related to. It’s a technical marvel and emotional gut-punch. Give it the world.
Adapted Screenplay
Will win: All Quiet On The Western Front
Should win: Living
Again, tapping the sign above about the really impressive war film that just isn’t the one I want to see take home flowers this year. What Kazuo Ishiguro did, however, with Living, was a beautiful, layered and unique take on work from both Akira Kurosawa and Leo Tolstoy that somehow beautifully wrapped itself around star Bill Nighy, and became its own living, breathing thing. Beautiful.
Original Screenplay
Will win: The Banshees Of Inisherin
Should win: The Banshees Of Inisherin
There is, of course, a chance that voters will have fallen hard for the unnerving irony of Triangle Of Sadness, or the earnest maximalism of EEAAO, but I have faith in BAFTA to recognise the small miracle of Banshees where, I repeat, two guys just aren’t friends anymore, and somehow it’s a masterpiece. I don’t get it either.
Film Not in the English Language
Will win: All Quiet On The Western Front
Should win: Decision To Leave
If we keep in mind the above argument against the very good WWI film, Park Chan-wook’s detective thriller-cum-melodrama should be recognised in many more categories, but to win just this one would do. Masterfully put together in any language, mercurial in its storytelling, it’s a little bit of magic.
The BAFTAs will take place at Royal Festival Hall on Sunday 19 February, from 7pm.
