No Country For Old Men is film of the year for London film critics
Story by Jack Foley
NO Country For Old Men has been named film of the year at the London Film Critics’ Circle awards – although the night’s biggest winner was Joy Division biopic Control.
The Coen brothers latest thriller has already scooped a number of awards in the run-up to the Oscars and is viewed as a firm favourite at both the Baftas and the Academy Awards.
But Control has been less recognised, even though the film found its way into the top 10 lists of most critics last year. It received awards for best British film, lead actor Sam Riley (who received a breakthrough prize) and director Anton Corbijn (who also received a breakthrough accolade).
Elsewhere, a lot of prizes were handed out to stars who have featured prominently in the awards season so far.
Daniel Day-Lewis was named best actor for There Will Be Blood while Julie Christie was named British actress of the year for Away From Her, beating Atonement‘s Keira Knightley and Sweeney Todd‘s Helena Bonham Carter.
The Lives of Others was named best foreign language film (having received last year’s Oscar in the same category), while its director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck was also recognised for his screenplay.
France’s Marion Cotillard, meanwhile, was named best actress for her portrayal of Edith Piaf in La Vie En Rose, while Paul Thomas Anderson won best director for There Will Be Blood.
Further awards for British talent went James McAvoy, who was named best British actor for Atonement, while his co-star Vanessa Redgrave shared the best British supporting actress award with No Country For Old Men‘s Kelly Macdonald (who surprised many with a near-flawless Texan accent).
Paul Greengrass, meanwhile, deservedly won best British director for his superior thriller The Bourne Ultimatum and Tom Wilkinson was named best supporting actor for his role in George Clooney legal thriller Michael Clayton.
Julie Walters won the Dilys Powell Award – named in honour of the celebrated film critic who died in 1995 – for outstanding contribution to cinema.