Silent movie The Artist had a night to shout about on Sunday, winning seven prizes including best picture at the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Awards.
The UK’s equivalent of the Academy Awards rewarded the French homage to old Hollywood over a homegrown favorite, espionage thriller Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.
The Artist, a black-and-white picture that has charmed audiences around the world since its Cannes debut in May last year, was named best film, and its rubber-limbed star Jean Dujardin took the male acting prize. Its filmmaker, Michel Hazanavicius, won prizes for directing and his original screenplay.
Dujardin said it was “incroyable” — incredible — to win a prize in the homeland of acting titan Laurence Olivier, William Webb Ellis — the inventor of rugby — “and Benny Hill.”
Hazanavicius thanked presenter Brad Pitt for pronouncing his name correctly — and academy voters for recognizing that his silent film even had a screenplay.
“So many people thought there was no script because there was no dialogue,” he said.
Another homage to early cinema, Martin Scorsese’s Parisian fantasy Hugo, took prizes for sound and production design.
John le Carre adaptation Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy went into the ceremony with 11 nominations compared with 12 for The Artist, but won just two prizes, for British film and for adapted screenplay.
Writer Peter Straughan dedicated the screenplay award to his wife and co-writer Bridget O’Connor, who died of cancer before the film was completed.
“She wrote all the good bits and I made this coffee,” Straughan said. “So, Bridget — I love you, I miss you. This is for you.”
The British prizes, known as BAFTAs, are considered a strong indicator of likely success at Hollywood’s Academy Awards, to be held on Feb. 26.
The trophies give more momentum to The Artist, which has already won three Golden Globes and has 10 Academy Award nominations.
Dujardin, who plays a silent screen icon eclipsed by the talkies, said the appeal of The Artist lay in its accessibility.
“It’s a simple story,” he said. “It’s a love story. It’s universal. And there’s a cute dog” — Jack Russell terrier Uggie, who almost steals the film from his two-legged co-stars.
The Artist also won prizes for cinematography, costume design and for Ludovic Bource’s sprightly musical score.
As predicted, Meryl Streep was named best actress for her depiction of former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady. The film also won a well-deserved prize for hair and makeup.
The supporting actor prize went to Christopher Plummer, as an academic who makes a new start late in life in Beginners. Octavia Spencer was named best supporting actress for her turn as a fiery maid in Deep South drama The Help.
Senna, a portrait of the short, sensational life of race car driver Ayrton Senna, was named best documentary and also won the editing prize.
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