London Critics Circle Weighs In
Colin Firth and Helena Bonham-Carter in THE KING'S SPEECH
The London Critics' Circle has weighed in with its announcements for its is 31st Film Awards. Two British films, The King's Speech and Another Year lead the nominations, celebrating another strong year for British cinema, with seven apiece. Pre-Oscars favourite The King's Speech is nominated in categories including the Sky 3D Award for Film of the Year, Actor of the Year, and the Actress of the Year award. Mike Leigh's humanist drama Another Year receives nods including British Director, British Actress and British Actor. The Social Network, the current contender for Oscar honors, also made a strong showing with five nominations. The acclaimed British debut feature The Arbor garnered an impressive four nominations, with Joel and Ethan Coen's True Grit getting four nominations for director and cast members.
For Best Foreign Language film honors, the films Dogtooth (Greece), I Am Love (Italy), Of Gods and Men (France), The Secret in Their Eyes (Argentina) and Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (Thailand) compete for top honors. Last year's best actor recipient, Colin Firth (for his role in A Single Man) is up for top nod again, this time for his role as the stuttering king in The King's Speech. Competition in the Best Actor category also includes Jeff Bridges (True Grit), Ryan Gosling (Blue Valentine), Jesse Eisenberg (The Social Network) and Edgar Ramirez (Carlos).
In the hotly contest Best Actress race, the frontrunners are Annette Bening for her comedic role in The Kids Are Allright, running neck in neck with Natalie Portman, for her astonishing turn in the ballet horror film Black Swan. The remaining actresses in the category are all newcomers, including Jennifer Lawrence (Winter's Bone), Sweden's Noomi Rapace (The Girl With The Dragon Tatoo) and Hailee Steinfeld (True Grit). One of the unique features of the Critics Circle Film Awards is a concentration of nominations for specifically British acting and directing talent (whether in British films or not). The roster of nominees include such celebrated names as Colin Firth, Helena Bonham Carter, Tilda Swinton, Christian Bale, Jim Broadbent, Andrew Garfield and Minnie Driver in a host of lead and supporting acting categories (for full list, see below).
The Critics' Circle Film Awards will be held for the first time at BFI Southbank on 10 February 2011, in aid of their new charity partner, the BFI Archive. The Awards are presented in partnership with Sky 3D and Moët & Chandon. The Circle is made up of 120 British writers, journalists and critics who write for both print, television, radio and online outlets.
Sandy Mandelberger, Awards Watch Editor
LONDON CRITICS CIRCLE FILM AWARDS NOMINATIONS
SKY 3D AWARD: FILM OF THE YEAR
Black Swan
The Kids Are All Right
The King's Speech
The Social Network
Toy Story 3
THE ATTENBOROUGH AWARD: BRITISH FILM OF THE YEAR
127 Hours
The Arbor
Another Year
The King's Speech
Monsters
FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM OF THE YEAR
Dogtooth (Greece)
I Am Love (Italy)
Of Gods and Men (France)
The Secret in Their Eyes (Argentina)
Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (Thailand)
ACTOR OF THE YEAR sponsored by Narrabeen Communications
Jeff Bridges - True Grit
Jesse Eisenberg - The Social Network
Colin Firth - The King's Speech
Ryan Gosling - Blue Valentine
Edgar Ramirez - Carlos
MOËT ACTRESS OF THE YEAR
Annette Bening - The Kids Are All Right
Jennifer Lawrence - Winter's Bone
Natalie Portman - Black Swan
Noomi Rapace - The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Hailee Steinfeld - True Grit
BRITISH ACTOR OF THE YEAR in association with Cameo Productions
Riz Ahmed - Four Lions
Christian Bale - The Fighter
Jim Broadbent - Another Year
Colin Firth - The King's Speech
Andrew Garfield - Never Let Me Go
BRITISH ACTRESS OF THE YEAR
Helena Bonham Carter - The King's Speech
Lesley Manville - Another Year
Rosamund Pike - Barney's Version
Ruth Sheen - Another Year
Tilda Swinton - I Am Love
BRITISH ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
David Bradley - Another Year
Pierce Brosnan - The Ghost
Andrew Garfield - The Social Network
Tom Hardy - Inception
Peter Wight - Another Year
BRITISH ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Helena Bonham Carter - Alice in Wonderland
Christine Bottomley - The Arbor
Minnie Driver - Barney's Version
Rosamund Pike - Made in Dagenham
Olivia Williams - The Ghost
YOUNG BRITISH PERFORMER OF THE YEAR
Jessica Barden - Tamara Drewe
Conor McCarron - NEDs
Will Poulter - The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
Saoirse Ronan - The Way Back
Thomas Turgoose - The Scouting Book for Boys
DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR
Darren Aronofsky - Black Swan
Joel Coen & Ethan Coen - True Grit
David Fincher - The Social Network
Christopher Nolan - Inception
Apichatpong Weerasethakul - Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives
BRITISH DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR
Clio Barnard - The Arbor
Danny Boyle - 127 Hours
Tom Hooper - The King's Speech
Mike Leigh - Another Year
Christopher Nolan - Inception
SCREENWRITER OF THE YEAR
Lisa Cholodenko & Stuart Blumberg - The Kids Are All Right
Joel Coen & Ethan Coen - True Grit
Chris Morris, Sam Bain, Simon Blackwell & Jesse Armstrong - Four Lions
David Seidler - The King's Speech
Aaron Sorkin - The Social Network
Virgin Atlantic BREAKTHROUGH BRITISH FILM-MAKER
Banksy - Exit Through the Gift Shop
Clio Barnard - The Arbor
J Blakeson - The Disappearance of Alice Creed
Gareth Edwards - Monsters
Chris Morris - Four Lions
