{"id":9341,"date":"2018-01-09T17:23:05","date_gmt":"2018-01-09T17:23:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thecliffedge.com\/?p=9341"},"modified":"2018-01-11T13:29:35","modified_gmt":"2018-01-11T13:29:35","slug":"the-shape-of-water-leads-bafta-2018-film-nominations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thecliffedge.com\/?p=9341","title":{"rendered":"‘The Shape of Water’ leads BAFTA 2018 film nominations"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Ray Bennett<\/p>\n

LONDON \u2013 The BAFTA Film Awards nominations for 2018 are the usual mix of richly deserved and dubious possibilities with full marks for the inclusion of \u2018The Shape of Water\u2019 (pictured) and \u2018Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri\u2019 but dismay at the exclusion of the film \u2018Lady Bird\u2019 and its director, Greta Gerwig, and Simon Russell Beale for \u2018The Death of Stalin\u2019.<\/p>\n

Guillermo Del Toro\u2019s marvellous beauty-and-the beast fantasy copped 12 nominations including best film, best director, original screenplay, best actress for Sally Hawkins and best supporting actress for Octavia Spencer. Martin McDonagh\u2019s riveting tale of violence and redemption in a small town matched that with nominations for best film, director, original screenplay, and best actress for Golden Globes-winner Florence McDormand among its nine, which also included nods for best supporting actor for Sam Rockwell and Woody Harrelson.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a shame not to see the delightfully insightful and witty \u2018Lady Bird\u2019, the scabrously funny \u2018The Death of Stalin\u2019 and shrewdly comic and cutting \u2018Get Out\u2019 named for best picture although no surprise that another of my favourites, the outrageous \u2018mother!\u2019 was ignored. At least BAFTA members didn\u2019t fall for the all-around sub-par Steven Spielberg newspaper picture \u2018The Post\u2019.<\/p>\n

Fine to have Joe Wright\u2019s \u2018Darkest Hour\u2019 (which earned eight nods) and \u2018Dunkirk\u2019 (seven) up for outstanding British film as both have major attributes despite serious flaws. Best film nominee \u2018Call Me By Your Name\u2019 and British film nominee \u2018God\u2019s Own Country\u2019 are attractive love stories that hardly qualify for awards. The other British film candidates are the perfectly acceptable \u2018Lady Macbeth\u2019 and \u2018Paddington 2\u2019. Wright was left off the director\u2019s list in favour of Denis Villeneuve for his ambitious work on \u2018Blade Runner 2049\u2019. He competes with my pick Del Toro, McDonagh, Nolan and Luca Guadagnino (\u2018Call Me by Your Name).<\/p>\n

Hawkins and McDormand are joined in the best actress list by the fully deserving Saoirse Ronan for \u2018Lady Bird\u2019 but the inclusions of Margot Robbie for the awkward sports comedy \u2018I, Tonya\u2019 and especially overwrought Annette Bening for the tiresome \u2018Film Stars Don\u2019t Die in Liverpool\u2019 are a puzzle. Florence Pugh for \u2018Lady Macbeth\u2019, Rosamund Pike for \u2018Hostiles\u2019, Rachel Weisz for \u2018My Cousin Rachel\u2019, Jennifer Lawrence for \u2018mother!\u2019 or even Jessica Chastain for ‘Molly’s Game’ would have been better bets.<\/p>\n

Gary Oldman is a shoo-in as best actor as he gives the finest portrayal of Winston Churchill yet seen on film with the padding, prosthetics and CGI tweaks merely tools of the trade. It\u2019s good to see Daniel Kaluuya on the list for \u2018Get Out\u2019 along with perennial Daniel Day Lewis for his typically observant turn in \u2018Phantom Thread\u2019 but Jamie Bell is not up to scratch in \u2018Film Stars Don\u2019t Die in Liverpool\u2019 and talented young Timoth\u00e9e Chalamet (\u2018Call Me By Your Name\u2019) will have more chances. I would have preferred to see Christian Bale for his grizzled and brooding cavalryman in \u2018Hostiles\u2019 or Jeremy Renner as a complex hunter in the Native American tale \u2018Wind River\u2019.<\/p>\n

Olivier Spencer is joined pleasingly in the best supporting actress list by Kristin Scott Thomas as a sprightly Clemmie Churchill in \u2018Darkest Hour\u2019, my pick Laurie Metcalf as a buttoned-up mother in \u2018Lady Bird\u2019 and Lesley Manville as a menacing presence in \u2018Phantom Thread\u2019. Allison Janney, however, has little to do but swear with a straight face in \u2018I, Tonya\u2019 while Hong Chau is unforgettable as an indomitable Vietnamese amputee in Alexander Payne\u2019s \u2018Downsizing\u2019.<\/p>\n

Like Mark Rylance before him, Simon Russell Beale had to wait a long time for a feature film role to which he could bring the acting mastery that has made him a king of the London stage for the past 20 years. His depiction of Lavrentiy Beria, the creepily unctuous and unsparingly pitiless head of the NKVD secret police in Armando Iannucci\u2019s savage comedy \u2018The Death of Stalin\u2019 is one of the screen\u2019s greatest portrayals of villainy. To snub him is a crime.<\/p>\n

Hugh Grant helps ensure that \u2018Paddington 2\u2019 remains so engaging and both Sam Rockwell, as a racist doofus, and Woody Harrelson, as a bemused lawman, warrant inclusion for sterling work in \u2018Three Billboards\u2019. Christopher Plummer is a great actor but \u2018All the Money in the World\u2019 is all over the place and it would be difficult for the splendid Willem Defoe not to stand out in the easy-to-forget kiddy picture \u2018The Florida Project\u2019. Richard Jenkins as a diffident neighbour and Michael Shannon as the real monster in \u2018Shape of Water\u2019 would have been better candidates as would Bill Nighy for his finely judged performance as an ageing actor in the best Dunkirk picture last year, \u2018Their Finest\u2019.<\/p>\n

It was a great year for film scores and all the best original music nominations are richly deserved: Benjamin Wallfisch and Hans Zimmer for \u2018Blade Runner 2049\u2019, Dario Marianelli for \u2018Darkest Hour\u2019, Hans Zimmer for \u2018Dunkirk\u2019, Jonny Greenwood for \u2018Phantom Thread\u2019 and my pick Alexandre Desplat for \u2018The Shape of Water\u2019. It\u2019s a great shame, though, that there wasn\u2019t room for Carter Burwell\u2019s evocative and scene-setting score for \u2018Three Billboards\u2019.<\/p>\n

The EE British Academy Film Awards take place on Sunday Feb. 18 at the Royal Albert Hall with host Joanna Lumley. A full list of nominees follows below<\/p>\n

Best film
\nCall Me by Your Name
\nDarkest Hour
\nDunkirk
\nThe Shape of Water
\nThree Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri<\/p>\n

Outstanding British film
\nDarkest Hour
\nThe Death of Stalin
\nGod\u2019s Own Country
\nLady Macbeth
\nPaddington 2
\nThree Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri<\/p>\n

Best actress
\nAnnette Bening, Film Stars Don\u2019t Die in Liverpool
\nFrances McDormand, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
\nMargot Robbie, I, Tonya
\nSally Hawkins, The Shape of Water
\nSaoirse Ronan, Lady Bird<\/p>\n

Best actor
\nDaniel Day-Lewis, Phantom Thread
\nDaniel Kaluuya, Get Out
\nGary Oldman, Darkest Hour
\nJamie Bell, Film Stars Don\u2019t Die in Liverpool
\nTimoth\u00e9e Chalamet, Call Me by Your Name<\/p>\n

Best supporting actress
\nAllison Janney, I, Tonya
\nKristin Scott Thomas, Darkest Hour
\nLaurie Metcalf, Lady Bird
\nLesley Manville, Phantom Thread
\nOctavia Spencer, The Shape of Water<\/p>\n

Best supporting actor
\nChristopher Plummer, All the Money in the World
\nHugh Grant, Paddington 2
\nSam Rockwell, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
\nWillem Dafoe, The Florida Project
\nWoody Harrelson, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri<\/p>\n

Best director
\nDenis Villeneuve, Blade Runner 2049
\nLuca Guadagnino, Call Me by Your Name
\nChristopher Nolan, Dunkirk
\nGuillermo Del Toro, The Shape of Water
\nMartin McDonagh, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri<\/p>\n

Best original music
\nBlade Runner 2049
\nDarkest Hour
\nDunkirk
\nPhantom Thread
\nThe Shape of Water<\/p>\n

Best original screenplay
\nGet Out
\nI, Tonya
\nLady Bird
\nThe Shape of Water
\nThree Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri<\/p>\n

Best adapted screenplay
\nCall Me by Your Name
\nThe Death of Stalin
\nFilm Stars Don\u2019t Die in Liverpool
\nMolly\u2019s Game
\nPaddington 2<\/p>\n

Best cinematography
\nBlade Runner 2049
\nDarkest Hour
\nDunkirk
\nThe Shape of Water
\nThree Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri<\/p>\n

Best production design
\nBeauty and the Beast
\nBlade Runner 2049
\nDarkest Hour
\nDunkirk
\nThe Shape of Water<\/p>\n

Best editing
\nBaby Driver
\nBlade Runner 2049
\nDunkirk
\nThe Shape of Water
\nThree Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri<\/p>\n

Best film not in the English language
\nElle
\nFirst They Killed My Father
\nThe Handmaiden
\nLoveless
\nThe Salesman<\/p>\n

Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer
\nThe Ghoul \u2013 Gareth Tunley (Writer\/Director\/Producer), Jack Healy Guttman & Tom Meeten (Producers)
\nI Am Not a Witch \u2013 Rungano Nyoni (Writer\/Director), Emily Morgan (Producer)
\nJawbone \u2013 Johnny Harris (Writer\/Producer), Thomas Napper (Director)
\nKingdom of Us \u2013 Lucy Cohen (Director)
\nLady Macbeth \u2013 Alice Birch (Writer), William Oldroyd (Director), Fodhla Cronin O\u2019Reilly (Producer)<\/p>\n

Best documentary
\nCity of Ghosts
\nI Am Not Your Negro
\nIcarus
\nAn Inconvenient Sequel
\nJane<\/p>\n

Best animated film
\nCoco
\nLoving Vincent
\nMy Life as a Courgette<\/p>\n

Best costume design
\nBeauty and the Beast
\nDarkest Hour
\nI, Tonya
\nPhantom Thread
\nThe Shape of Water<\/p>\n

Best make up & hair
\nBlade Runner 2049
\nDarkest Hour
\nI, Tonya
\nVictoria & Abdul
\nWonder<\/p>\n

Best sound
\nBaby Driver
\nBlade Runner 2049
\nDunkirk
\nThe Shape of Water
\nStar Wars: The Last Jedi<\/p>\n

Best special visual effects
\nBlade Runner 2049
\nDunkirk
\nThe Shape of Water
\nStar Wars: The Last Jedi
\nWar for the Planet of the Apes<\/p>\n

Best British short animation
\nHave Heart
\nMamoon
\nPoles Apart<\/p>\n

Best British short film
\nAamir
\nCowboy Dave
\nA Drowning Man
\nWork
\nWren Boys<\/p>\n

EE Rising Star award (voted for by the public)
\nDaniel Kaluuya
\nFlorence Pugh
\nJosh O\u2019Connor
\nTessa Thompson
\nTimoth\u00e9e Chalamet<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Ray Bennett LONDON \u2013 The BAFTA Film Awards nominations for 2018 are the usual mix of richly deserved and dubious possibilities with full marks for the inclusion of \u2018The Shape of Water\u2019 (pictured) and \u2018Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri\u2019 … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,9],"tags":[4715,4758,4774,2307,4759,1056],"class_list":["post-9341","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-film","category-news","tag-the-shape-of-water","tag-three-billboards-outside-ebbing","tag-2018-nominations","tag-bafta-film-awards","tag-missouri","tag-sally-hawkins"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecliffedge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9341","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecliffedge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecliffedge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecliffedge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecliffedge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9341"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/thecliffedge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9341\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9358,"href":"https:\/\/thecliffedge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9341\/revisions\/9358"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecliffedge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9341"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecliffedge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9341"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecliffedge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9341"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}