Thoughts on this season's BAFTA nominations
Tuesday, January 10, 2017 at 10:18AM
NATHANIEL R in Arrival, BAFTA, I Daniel Blake, Nocturnal Animals, Oscar Trivia, Oscars (16), Ruth Negga, Screenplays, Under the Shadow, precursor awards

La La Land was the not unexpected leader for the BAFTA nominations. Slightly less known ahead of time was what film would threaten its leader status and that is arguably more surprising: divisive Nocturnal Animals tied for second place with the not very divisive Arrival with nine nominations each.

The film suffering the most this morning from lack of BAFTA love is surely Loving, which had the advantage of a popular new homegrown star Ruth Negga but missed in all categories but for "Rising Star" for Ruth Negga. The nominations in all categories after the jump...

Best film 

I, Daniel Blake which was the Palme D'Or winner last summer and which has just opened in the US is nominated in both of BAFTA's Best Picture categories. Shouldn't they actually just have Outstanding Non-British Film and British Film to prevent the doubling up. 

Outstanding British film

 

Perhaps there was a tie? Denial came and went with next to no fanfare in the States but across the Atlantic this BAFTA nod suggests a much warmer reception. The UK's foreign language film submission for Oscar, the Tehran set horror film Under the Shadow will eventually find its US audience when it hit Netflix later this month but in release in the States it only made $31,000 (Yours truly contributed to that gross). 

Director

The Nocturnal Animals team (pictured here at TIFF) have reason to celebrate today

It's fairly horrifying to see Moonlight's Barry Jenkins left off of this list! If this comes to pass with Oscar we will be very very sad and the director's branch will deserve all the ire that comes their way. We'll assume the BAFTA shrug is due to its US southern atmosphere. Notice that Loving didn't make their lists at all!

Leading actress 

It's the exact SAG list, whoa. With Emily Blunt rising again. Though it should be noted that the Globe winning Huppert was not eligible for this particular award due to Elle's very very late release in the UK. Best Actress just won't settle down this year but this can't be good news for Oscar hopeful Ruth Negga who is more well known in the UK than in the US.

Leading actor

Okay. Hear me out. I know that many of you are less than thrilled with my loathing of Nocturnal Animals. But I am always able to separate overall feelings about a film with its disparate elements. For instance, I've long maintained that a Michael Shannon nomination for this picture would not be at all undeserved and even though I wouldn't nominate them, I would understand Production Design or Cinematography or Score impulses. But Jake Gyllenhaal?!? He's one of my personal favorite movie stars, as you know, so I'm predisposed to ENJOY his work but I think this is his weakest performance in quite some time. And in place of the towering magnificence of Denzel Washington or the quiet character work of Joel Edgerton or [insert several more names here] ? I can't. I just can't. I cannot. WHAT?

P.S. Guy Lodge shared the startling fact today that Denzel Washington, one of the world's most enduring and Oscared movie stars, has never been nominated for a BAFTA.

Supporting actress 

I Daniel Blake's supporting actress lands the spot we've seen Hidden Figures occupy in US awards shows. 

Supporting actor


Aaron Taylor Johnson again, huh. Just a week ago everyone thought his Globe nomination was a fluke. Now he's got a win and a BAFTA nomination. Is his creepy performancing harnessing the power of the entertainment's industry's terrror about all the racist, sexist, uneducated sociopaths who are currently throwing so much of the world into disarray right now? If so maybe he is getting nominated. The other four men are looking locked up for Oscar now after so many nominations. This leaves Lucas Hedges (again, as we've stated multiple times due to his age) more vulnerable to being ousted from the Oscar lineup.

Original screenplay 

As a reminder The Lobster was not eligible as it was BAFTA nominated last year since it waited so long for a US release. (Was 20th Century Women ineligible or was it just stiffed for inferior work?)

Adapted screenplay

No Fences? grrrr.

Outstanding debut by a British writer, director or producer

Under the Shadow well received at home.

If you've seen these movies speak up!  How do you feel about this category. It's the rare awards category where we haven't seen enough of the nominees to have an opinion and would have to abstain from voting.

Film not in the English language

Due to the lack of unity in release dates we have an interesting mix of two of 2015's Best Foreign Language Film nominees, a Cannes winner from two summers ago, Oscar-snubbed Julieta (which Spain submitted this year but it didn't make the finals) and future Oscar nominee Toni Erdmann. From this list I am 100% a Mustang man. You?

Documentary

Notes on Blindness and the Beatles are not in the running for the Oscar race in this category. With OJ Made in America, the television miniseries which has been hogging feature prizes this season, out of the running which film do you suppose takes the BAFTA?  

Animated film

Why only four nominees? And with only four why Finding Dory (which is increasingly forgotten... at least in this brain... and feels more and more like a disposable cash grab as it fades?)

Original music 

Arrival was deemed ineligible for the Oscar race. Strangely, given the Golden Globe love for the movie, Nocturnal Animals was not nominated for score there. Can Abel Korzeniowski (who has 2 Globe nods, 1 BAFTA nod, and 3 Emmy nods already) nab his first Oscar nomination?

The Original Score nominations willl be interesting to watch with Oscar this year. The Academy music branch is generally very very wary of "new" composers -- preferring to keep the nominations in the branch house. If these nominations were to transfer direct to Oscar (sans Arrival) there would be no previous nominees nominated which I believe has never happened in my entire lifetime with Oscar's historically most insular category.

Cinematography

Another field of strong contenders that, with the exception of Seamus McGarvey, would be first time Oscar nominees.

Editing 

No offense intended but I'm struggling to see how Manchester by the Sea keeps pulling down editing nods at every show with such ease. And over Moonlight of all things in this case, a film that is so obviously and artfully edited? Usually being "obvious" helps in this category. *cries* Note: there is nothing whatsoever wrong with MbtS's editing but "Best" of its year? A bit of a head scratcher.

Production design 

Is Nocturnal Animals getting production design nods for its hillbilly sociopath filth or the art world emptiness?

All of these films were also up for Art Directors Guild nominations - albeit spread across three different categories

Costume design

Allied is a bit of a surprise given that film's low impact but Marion Cotillard and Brad Pitt did look sensational throughout.

Make-up and hair

Of these nominations only Florence Foster Jenkins can repeat at Oscar. It's the only one of these films that made the American Academy's finals

Sound

Special visual effects

British short animation

British short film

EE Rising Star award (voted for by the public)

Since that last category is voted on by the public, which name would be on your ballot? 

 

Article originally appeared on The Film Experience (http://thefilmexperience.net/).
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