Though Atonement led the field with fourteen nominations, the prizes were spread far and wide at tonight’s BAFTA ceremony. Atonement did take the big prize of the night, Best Picture (yet oddly wasn’t chosen as Best British Film), but its only other win was in Production Design. In fact, it turned out to be La Vie En Rose that spent the most time at the podium, with four prizes.
Some of the winners were as you may have predicted – Daniel Day Lewis took a well earned Best Actor trophy for There Will Be Blood; Diablo Cody proved a popular choice for Best Original Screenplay for Juno; Javier Bardem won for Best Supporting Actor and the Coen brothers for Best Director(s), both for No Country For Old Men – but there were some big surprises in there too.
Tilda Swinton was an unexpected, but entirely deserving, victor for her turn in Michael Clayton. She’s also nominated in the same category at the Oscars later this month. Shane Meadows' fantastic This Is England pipped Atonement to Best British Film. Maybe the biggest surprise was Marion Cotillard, who took Best Actress for La Vie En Rose. Julie Christie had been the clear favourite for the prize, particularly at an awards show voted for by Brits, but the prize went to the French actress for her turn as Edith Piaf.
It wasn't the most exciting of ceremonies – when will BAFTA give the presenting gig to Ricky Gervais, rather than Jonathan Ross, who soars at the British Comedy Awards but oddly flounders here? – but it's hard to argue with many of the winners and some, such as Tilda Swinton and recognition for The Bourne Ultimatum, do credit to the academy.
What does this mean for the Oscars? Well, not much as the BAFTAs rarely serve as much of an indicator. It would be an enormous surprise if Atonement repeated its Best Picture success there, given its lack of nominations in the other big categories. Many of the others followed predictions and trends of the season. But could this indicate a slowing of momentum for Julie Christie, who's won the most Best Actress awards this season? Might we see Cotillard repeat her success?
The complete winners are:
Best Film – Atonement (Tim Bevan/Eric Fellner/Paul Webster)
Best British Film – This Is England (Mark Herbert/Shane Meadows)
The Carl Foreman Award for Special Achievement by a British Director, Writer or Producer for their First Feature Film – Matt Greenhalgh (Writer, Control)
Best Director – Joel Coen/Ethan Coen (No Country For Old Men)
Best Original Screenplay – Diablo Cody (Juno)
Best Adapted Screenplay – Ronald Harwood (The Diving Bell and The Butterfly)
Best Film Not In The English Language – The Lives of Others (Quirin Berg/Max Wiedemann/Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck)
Best Animated Film – Ratatouille
Best Actor – Daniel Day Lewis (There Will Be Blood)
Best Actress – Marion Cotillard (La Vie En Rose)
Best Supporting Actor – Javier Bardem (No Country For Old Men)
Best Supporting Actress – Tilda Swinton (Michael Clayton)
Best Music – La Vie En Rose (Christopher Gunning)
Best Cinematography – No Country For Old Men (Roger Deakins)
Best Editing – The Bourne Ultimatum (Christopher Rouse)
Best Production Design – Atonement (Sarah Greenwood/Katie Spencer)
Best Costume Design – La Vie En Rose (Marit Allen)
Best Sound – The Bourne Ultimatum (Kirk Francis/Scott Millan/David Parker/Karen Baker Landers/Per Hallberg)
Best Visual Effects – The Golden Compass (Michael Fink/Bill Westenhofer/Ben Morris/Trevor Wood)
Best Make Up and Hair – La Vie En Rose (Jan Archibald/Didier Lavergne)
Best Short Animation – The Pearce Sisters (Jo Allen/Luis Cook)
Best Short Film – Dog Altogether (Diarmid Scrimshaw/Paddy Considine)
The Orange Rising Star Award – Shia LaBeouf
To read our minute-by-minute blog of the BAFTA cermony, click here.