With this year's BAFTA nominations now announced, Ian McEwan adaptation Atonement stands out as the clear favourite with a total of 14 nominations. James McAvoy is up for Best Actor as the ambitious but unfortunate working class lad Robbie, with Keira Knightley nominated for Best Actress as the upper class woman he falls in love with. Young Saoirse Ronan is in the running for Best Supporting Actress as the sister who comes between them, setting up a chain of consequences which will destroy all of their lives.
Also going strong, after a quiet few years, are Joel and Ethan Coen, whose work won a total of nine nominations. No Country For Old Men, which is currently proving a hit at the box office, weaves a complex tale of temptation and loss with Javier Bardem as a truly terrifying villain. Both Bardem and Tommy Lee Jones enjoy Best Supporting Actor nominations and Kelly MacDonald has been nominated as Best Supporting Actress.
Joining these two in the Best Film category are American Gangster, There Will Be Blood, and sleeper hit The Lives Of Others. Atonement appears again in the Best British Film category, alongside The Bourne Ultimatum, Control, Eastern Promises and This Is England. Up for a Special Achievement award for a debut project is Chris Atkins, whose documentary Taking Liberties, takes a look at the threat to long-established liberal freedoms in current British politics. "I'm flabbergasted and thrilled but worried that it won’t do my anti-establishment credentials any good!" was his response. If you'd like to know more, take a look at our interview with Chris Atkins from last year.
One notable loser was Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street, which was nominated only in technical categories despite having been expected to be a front runner.
This year's BAFTA ceremony is expected to be more spectacular than ever. With the writers' strike preventing Hollywood stars from attending American events like the Golden Globes ceremony and, quite possibly, the Oscars, the BAFTAs have suddenly become established as the place to be seen and the place to party. The ceremony will take place on the 10th of February.
