‘Boyhood’, ‘Grand Budapest Hotel’ big winners at BAFTA
Coming-of-age drama Boyhood won three of the biggest awards at the BAFTA 2015 but it was Wes Anderson’s whimsical drama The Grand Budapest Hotel that dominated the ceremony by taking home five trophies.
Boyhood, a moving, groundbreaking film about growing up, was shot with the same actors for over 12 years, bagged the best film, best director for Richard Linklater while Patricia Arquette won the best supporting actress for the portrayal of a doting divorced mother of two kids.
Accepting the BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) trophy, an emotional Arquette (46) said Linklater had made a film like no other, which had broken “the rules of cinema... You made an ordinary story extraordinary.”
She dedicated her award to late filmmaker Tony Scott, a man who “changed my life because he really taught me how to listen to myself as a girl and as an actress. Every single idea that I had, he’d say: ‘That’s a brilliant idea, let’s do it.’ So I love you England for giving us Tony Scott.”
The award for leading actress went to Julianne Moore for her unbearably moving role of a woman succumbing to Alzheimer’s in Still Alice.
She took to the stage and emotionally thanked the female members of her family, insisting she felt compelled to mention them during her first ever BAFTAs speech — because they hail from the UK.
“Thank you for including me among these beautiful performances both British Felicity, Rosamund and American Amy and Reese I’m honoured to be honoured with you tonight. Film is a collaborative medium, there’s no way you can give a performance by yourself and the thing I value most about my job is the creative partnership with others,” she said.
Eddie Redmayne triumphed in the best actor category for his portrayal of Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything after beating Benedict Cumberbatch (The Imitation Game), Ralph Fiennes (Budapest), Jake Gyllenhaal (Nightcrawler), Michael Keaton (Birdman).
Redmayne (33) dedicated the award to his own family, to his professional family, the cast and crew, and the Hawkings, “for reminding me of the great strength that comes from the will to live a full and passionate life.”
The biopic also won best adapted screenplay and outstanding British film.
The Grand Budapest Hotel, which dominated the craft categories, won best original music, makeup and hair, costume design, production design, as well as best original screenplay for its absent director Anderson.
Whiplash, a film written and directed by Damien Chazelle based on his experiences in the Princeton High School Studio Band, came away with three awards including best editing, best sound and best supporting actor award for JK Simmons as the tyrannical and ruthless music teacher Terence Fletcher.
Thanking the director Damien Chazelle, his wife, children, and parents, Simmons said, “The whole experience has been a gift to me.”
Satirical drama Birdman, which bagged many nominations at the upcoming Oscars, felt disappointed with just one award for the best cinematography.
The winner of the best documentary was Laura Poitras’ gripping Citizenfour, which documents Edward Snowden’s efforts to expose the scale of NSA post-9/11 spying. It was a predicted triumph as well as the only award where there was no one to pick it up.
Other awards included writer Stephen Beresford and producer David Livingstone winning in the outstanding British debut category for Pride.
Interstellar won best special visual effects, Ida won best film not in the English language beating India’s epistolary romance The Lunchbox and Jack O’Connell won the EE rising star award.
Seasoned awards observers believe the BAFTA results can have a real impact on the Oscars, with voting for those is open till February 17.
It was Stephen Fry’s 10th year as host, first as a newlywed. In previous years he has demanded kisses to be blown from the likes of Brad Pitt. This year he went one step further by walking into the audience to get a kiss from Michael Keaton and Edward Norton.
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