Paul Thomas Anderson’s “One Battle After Another” continued its awards season streak by winning the top prize at the 79th British Academy Film Awards (BAFTAs) on Sunday, with the British awards also recognising homegrown talent across categories.
Following in the footsteps of Hollywood ceremonies last month, the BAFTAs gave the best film award to the offbeat thriller “One Battle After Another”.
Paul Thomas Anderson won the best director award for the political thriller, which has struck a chord with its portrayal of a deeply polarised United States — and also won the most prizes of the night with a tally of six.
“Unfortunately, the title makes sense,” Anderson told reporters after the ceremony. “It just does start to seem like one battle after another these days. But stay hopeful.”
Chalamet’s ping-pong drama “Marty Supreme” left the night with no awards — having been nominated in 11 categories — but Guillermo del Toro’s “Frankenstein” walked off with three wins in the technical categories.
Vampire period film “Sinners” left the night with three awards, including for best score and best original screenplay.
The BAFTA ceremony, often seen as a weather vane for the Oscars in three weeks time, recognised British and Irish talent in some of the top categories.
Loud cheers erupted in London’s Southbank Centre when British actor Robert Aramayo triumphed over established stars Timothee Chalamet and Leonardo DiCaprio to snag the best actor honour.
Aramayo, the underdog in the category, won for his portrayal of a man with Tourette syndrome in “I Swear”, inspired by the real life story of Scot John Davidson whose life was irrevocably changed by the condition.
“I honestly cannot believe I won this award. I really, really cannot,” said a tearful Aramayo, who had already won in the rising star category.
“I’m just really happy that ‘I Swear’ has shown a spotlight on something that is really, really misunderstood,” he added.
Ireland’s Jessie Buckley continued her winning streak for her heartwrenching portrayal of Shakespeare’s wife Agnes in “Hamnet”, scooping the best actress award, beating off strong competition from stars including Kate Hudson and Emma Stone
“This really does belong to the women past, present and future that have taught me and continue to teach me how to do it differently,” said Buckley, who made history as the first Irish actress to win a BAFTA in the category.
Unlike France’s Cesar Awards or Spain’s Goya Awards, which champion national cinema, the BAFTAs are open to all nationalities. As a consequence, the awards have previously faced some criticism for the American-dominated roster.
This year however, local talent got wide recognition.
“Hamnet” won outstanding British film, and Nigerian-British actress Wunmi Mosaku won best supporting actress for her role in “Sinners”.
Adapted from a novel by Maggie O’Farrell, “Hamnet” follows William Shakespeare and his wife Agnes as they navigate the loss of their son in plague-ravaged Elizabethan England.
“Sentimental Value” won in the foreign language film category, becoming the first Norwegian film to win at the BAFTAs, according to director Joachim Trier.
The intimate drama follows the relationship between two daughters and their estranged father, as he struggles to reconnect with them while making a film in their now hollowed-out family home.
“We felt ready to try to talk about family life, intergenerational trauma and all those things we don’t know how to talk about,” Danish-Norwegian filmmaker Trier told reporters.
Hollywood and British royalty were in attendance, including BAFTA president Prince William, his wife Princess Catherine, and A-listers DiCaprio, Chalamet and Cillian Murphy.
William, the eldest son of King Charles III, was the latest royal to go about business-as-usual at the end of a dramatic week that saw his uncle and ex-prince Andrew arrested.
The Prince of Wales said he was not calm “at the moment” when asked about whether he had watched “Hamnet”, according to the PA news agency.
“I need to be in quite a calm state and I’m not at the moment,” William told Elaine Bedell, chief executive of the Southbank Centre.
But even the heir-to-the-throne smiled wide as Paddington Bear came onto the stage to present the award for best children and family film.
Credit: AFP
