Christopher Nolan’s biopic on the father of the atomic bomb Oppenheimer promises to be the big favorite for the Baftas, the British film awards awarded on Sunday, where the French comet Anatomy of a Fall could also continue its rise before the Oscars. Nothing seems to stop the winner of the Palme d’Or at Cannes, acclaimed in theaters and who is accumulating international awards, raising hopes of a French success in Los Angeles in March.
Before that, Anatomy of a Fall, which recounts the trial of a writer accused of having killed her husband, garnered seven Bafta nominations and is in the running for best film, best director for Justine Triet or even best actress for the German Sandra Hüller.
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Like the other international awards, Oppenheimer, which brought in nearly a billion dollars, remains the big favorite for Sunday evening, and could offer Christopher Nolan (Inception, Interstellar) his first Bafta as best director. Facing him, two other Britons, Jonathan Glazer (The Zone of Interest) and Andrew Haigh (Without Ever Knowing Us) will compete for the award, alongside Bradley Cooper (Maestro), Alexander Payne (The Holdovers) and Justine Triet, only woman in the running.
The portrait of J. Robert Oppenheimer, tortured physicist and scientific director of the Manhattan Project during World War II, takes the lead with 13 nominations, including best actor for Irishman Cillian Murphy. Behind him, Poor Creatures, the dark and zany comedy inspired by Frankenstein and by Yorgos Lanthimos, is nominated in 11 categories, including best actress for Emma Stone. The American star is expected on the red carpet at the Royal Festival Hall alongside Hollywood stars Margot Robbie, Carey Mulligan and Bradley Cooper, before the opening of the ceremony hosted by Scottish “Doctor Who” David Tennant.
A regular at the event, Prince William, who has only spoken publicly once since the announcement of the cancer of his father, King Charles III, is also expected Sunday evening in London and will meet several of the winners in his role as president of Bafta. His wife Kate remains recovering from her abdominal surgery in January. Among the other contenders, Martin Scorsese’s historical fresco Killers of the Flower Moon obtained nine nominations, such as The Zone of Interest, a chilling film about the daily life of the family of the commander of the Nazi extermination camp of Auschwitz and winner of the Cannes Grand Prix. Sandra Hüller, who plays his sadistic wife, is also nominated in the category of best supporting actress for this film.
Barbie, the summer’s other commercial success directed by Greta Gerwig but shunned at the Oscars, is only in the running for five awards, including best actress for Margot Robbie. “This year’s selection is very exciting, and I think its key word is variety,” Sara Putt, president of the Bafta, said in January, who hopes that this wide range of films and genres “will encourage people to go At the movie theater”.
The Baftas reward, over the years, fewer and fewer British actors: among the men, there is no representative from the United Kingdom for best role or best supporting role, a first since 1976. The actresses from from the United Kingdom are better represented, with Carey Mulligan (Maestro) and Vivian Oparah (Rye Lane) nominated for best actress, and Emily Blunt (Oppenheimer), Claire Foy (Without Ever Knowing Us) and Rosamund Pike (Saltburn) in a supporting actor. The British revelation How to have sex by young director Molly Manning Walker, which questions the thrill of first encounters and the limits of consent, received three nominations, after winning the Un Certain Regard prize at Cannes.