Shame, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, and Tyrannosaur lead the British Independent Film nominations: The three UK movies have received seven nods apiece for this year’s awards, the ceremony to take place in London on December 4. We Need to Talk About Kevin and Kill List each received six nominations, with Submarine following closely with five. Jury members for this year’s 14th awards include actor David Thewlis, producer Charles Steel (The Last King of Scotland) and director Josh Appignanesi (The Infidel).

Best British Independent Film
Senna
Shame
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Tyrannosaur
We Need To Talk About Kevin
Best Director
Ben Wheatley – Kill List
Steve McQueen – Shame
Tomas Alfredson – Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Paddy Considine – Tyrannosaur
Lynne Ramsay – We Need To Talk About Kevin
Best Actress
Rebecca Hall – The Awakening
Mia Wasikowska – Jane Eyre
MyAnna Buring – Kill List
Olivia Colman – Tyrannosaur
Tilda Swinton – We Need To Talk About Kevin
Best Actor
Brendan Gleeson – The Guard
Neil Maskell – Kill List
Michael Fassbender – Shame
Gary Oldman – Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Peter Mullan – Tyrannosaur
Best Supporting Actress
Felicity Jones – Albatross
Vanessa Redgrave – Coriolanus
Carey Mulligan – Shame
Sally Hawkins – Submarine
Kathy Burke – Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Best Supporting Actor
Michael Smiley – Kill List
Tom Hardy – Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Benedict Cumberbatch – Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Eddie Marsan – Tyrannosaur
Ezra Miller – We Need To Talk About Kevin

Anne Thompson weighs in on how the Brit awards affect the Oscars.

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Although word out of the Toronto Film Festival suggested that Lars von Trier’s Melancholia was wanting in terms of film craft, Sukhdev Sandhu’s review in the Telegraph would suggest otherwise, as would Eric Kohn’s IndieWire take. Still, Peter Bradshaw writing for The Guardian calls the film absurd, but pulls back in his criticism when he writes, “for all its silliness and self-consciousness, this is the happiest experience I’ve had with Von Trier for some time.” Seems like we’re going to have to make up our own mind. Melancholia should arrive in Vancouver sometime in November.
While we’re in a trailer mood, how about a bit of Michelle Williams as Marilyn Monroe, in the bath soaping herself, and singing …

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Truth to tell, Oprah Winfrey is not one of our favourite people in the world.
VanRamblings believes that the indefatigable Ms. Winfrey single-handedly created the ‘victim culture’ during the course of the early years of her eponymous and ubiquitous afternoon talk show, when she paraded one sorry soul after another onto her stage in a litany of ‘woe is me, I have no control over my life, even if none of what’s happened to me is my fault, there’s nothing I can do to make my life better, more livable, there’s nothing I can do to become a productive citizen, all I can do is whine and feel sorry for myself’ programming that had a profound effect on how a whole generation of young women growing up came to see themselves, in the process creating a culture of alienation and anomie complemented by pop culture coverage vapid enough to turn your stomach, resulting in a do-nothing, apolitical generation of 30-somethings committed to avarice and dionysian want, who add nothing to the sum total of our existence.

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What one aspect of a film contributes to a film’s consideration for Oscar contender status over the holiday season? Heart. And tears, and joy.
No matter who you are, entering a darkened screening room you want to be moved, to laugh, to cry, to come out of the cinema feeling better, more whole, your priorities realigned. You want to feel that there’s nothing you can’t do, that the whole world is open to you. And if the story that has unfolded before you over two hours is a story of family, and redemption, all the better. What film follows into that category this holiday season?

Continue reading Oscar Watch: Even More Trailers of Upcoming Oscar Contenders →