Awards season is here, ladies and jellybeans. It’s time for the "Best Films of 2014" to be showered with praise at several different award shows, during which we will cheer, moan, cry and if worst comes to worst, write a very formal letter of complaint. The latest awards show was the London Critics Circle awards, and it seems their choices are bang on the money.
In the other categories, it was Michael Keaton, Julianne Moore and J.K. Simmons (For their roles in Birdman, Still Alice and Whiplash, respectively) who took home the prizes. Moore and Simmons are currently the favourites to win Academy Awards in the same categories. However Keaton looks to be pipped to the post by Brit actor Eddie Redmayne after his stunning turn as Professor Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything. Nevertheless, Keaton’s performance in Birdman has been critically praised and it’s nice to see him come out with something. The awards for British Actor and Actress of the year went to Timothy Spall (Mr. Turner) and Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl) respectively. Pike blew audiences away as Amy Elliot Dunne in David Fincher’s adaptation of Gillian Flynn’s bestselling novel, and it’s a much deserved win.
Speaking of Brits, Yann Demange picked up Breakthrough British Filmmaker for directing ’71. The film, starring Jack O’Connell, was heavily praised by critics and audiences alike. On the acting side of things, it was Alex Lawther who picked up Young British Performer of the Year for his stunning turn in The Imitation Game.
The award for Best Documentary went to CitizenFour, Laura Poitras’s film concerning Edward Snowden and the NSA Spying Scandal. Best Foreign Language Film went to the critically acclaimed Leviathan, and Screenwriter of the Year was won by Wes Anderson for his stunning latest film, The Grand Budapest Hotel. Finally, the Dylis Powell Award for Excellent in Film went to Miranda Richardson, star of Blackadder, Harry Potter and more recently, Belle.
So it looks like the Critics Circle haven’t set a single foot wrong. Let’s hope other award shows can do the same!
See the full lit of winners!
Boyhood (Universal)
FOREIGN-LANGUAGE FILM OF THE YEAR
Leviathan (Curzon Artificial Eye)
BRITISH FILM OF THE YEAR
Under the Skin (StudioCanal)
DOCUMENTARY OF THE YEAR
Citizenfour (Curzon Artificial Eye)
ACTOR OF THE YEAR
Michael Keaton - Birdman (Fox)
ACTRESS OF THE YEAR
Julianne Moore - Still Alice (Curzon Artificial Eye)
SUPPORTING ACTOR OF THE YEAR
JK Simmons - Whiplash (Sony)
SUPPORTING ACTRESS OF THE YEAR
Patricia Arquette - Boyhood (Universal)
BRITISH ACTOR OF THE YEAR
Timothy Spall - Mr Turner (EONE)
BRITISH ACTRESS OF THE YEAR
Rosamund Pike - Gone Girl (Fox) & What We Did on Our Holiday (Lionsgate)
YOUNG BRITISH PERFORMER OF THE YEAR
Alex Lawther - The Imitation Game (StudioCanal)
DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR
Richard Linklater - Boyhood (Universal)
SCREENWRITER OF THE YEAR
Wes Anderson - The Grand Budapest Hotel (Fox)
BREAKTHROUGH BRITISH FILMMAKER
Yann Demange - '71 (StudioCanal)
TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Under the Skin Mica Levi, score (StudioCanal)
DILYS POWELL AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN FILM
Miranda Richardson
TOP 10 FILMS of 2014
1. Boyhood
2. Birdman
3. Under the Skin
4. Whiplash
5. Mr Turner
6. Leviathan
7. The Grand Budapest Hotel
8. Ida
9. Nightcrawler
10. The Theory of Everything