‘The Revenant’ reigns at BAFTAs
The U.K. film industry showered Valentine’s Day love on “The Revenant” Sunday, awarding the endurance epic five prizes, including best picture and best actor, at the British Academy Film Awards.
Leonardo DiCaprio cemented his Oscar-favorite status by taking the best-actor trophy for playing a bear-battling fur trapper in a brutally wild American West. Alejandro G. Inarritu was named best director for what he called a “human and tender story,” and “The Revenant” also won prizes for cinematography and sound.
DiCaprio, who has been nominated three times before at the British awards without winning, said in his acceptance speech that he was “absolutely humbled” to beat “The Martian” star Matt Damon, “Trumbo’s” Bryan Cranston, Michael Fassbender for “Steve Jobs,” and Eddie Redmayne for “The Danish Girl.”
The British awards, known as BAFTAs, are considered a portent of success at Hollywood’s Feb. 28 Academy Awards.
The best-actress trophy went to Brie Larson as a mother trying to shield her son from a terrible reality in “Room.” She won out over Alicia Vikander for “The Danish Girl,” Cate Blanchett for “Carol,” Maggie Smith for “The Lady in the Van” and Saoirse Ronan for “Brooklyn.”
Supporting performer prizes went to Mark Rylance, a soft-spoken Soviet agent in “Bridge of Spies,” and Kate Winslet, an Apple executive in “Steve Jobs.”
“The Revenant” beat several hotly tipped awards contenders, including Steven Spielberg’s Cold War thriller “Bridge of Spies” and Todd Haynes’ lesbian romance “Carol.” Each had nine BAFTA nominations, but “Bridge of Spies” won only for Rylance’s performance, while “Carol” was shut out.
Irish emigrant saga “Brooklyn” was named best British film, a distinct category, while the documentary prize went to “Amy,” a powerful portrait of the rise and fall of singer Amy Winehouse.
George Miller’s dystopian thrill ride “Mad Max: Fury Road” took four prizes: editing, production design, costume design, and hair and makeup.
Two leading Oscar contenders also won awards: “Spotlight,” the drama about newspaper reporters investigating sex abuses in the Catholic Church, for original screenplay, and financial-crisis dramedy “The Big Short,” for adapted screenplay.
The black comedy anthology “Wild Tales,” written and directed by Argentine Damian Szifron, won for non-English language film. Famed Italian film composer Ennio Morricone, 87, received the music award for his score to Quentin Tarantino’s “The Hateful Eight.”