The Banshees of Inisherin And Aftersun Top The Nominees For The 43rd London Critics’ Circle Awards
Carl Roberts 
Tár, Everything Everywhere All at Once and The Wonder also score highly in a diverse slate of nominations from the UK’s top critics. Who will win big at the 43rd London Critics Circle Awards?
The nominations for the 43rd London Critics Circle Awards are in. And it certainly is a diverse bunch of movies that have been tipped to win the top awards. The dark tragicomedy The Banshees Of Inisherin leads the line with nine nods ahead of the coming-of-age story Aftersun. Tar and Everything Everywhere All At Once come next with six nominations each while some of the biggest Hollywood blockbusters of the year also get nominations.
THE DETAILS
Homegrown talent led the field as the UK’s leading film critics unveiled the nominations for the 43rd annual London Critics’ Circle Film Awards, with British-Irish director Martin McDonagh’s dark tragicomedy The Banshees of Inisherin coming out on top with nine nominations. McDonagh, who triumphed in the Circle’s 2018 awards with Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, is eyeing another hefty London haul. Close behind, with eight nominations, was Scottish debut filmmaker Charlotte Wells’ powerful coming-of-age story Aftersun.
Both films scored nominations for Film of the Year, Director of the Year, and Screenwriter of the Year, as did two favorites from across the pond: Todd Field’s provocative culture-war drama Tár and Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert’s fantastical family portrait Everything Everywhere All at Once, both of which scored six nominations. These nomination leaders also landed multiple acting nominations, with Banshees notably scoring nods for all four of its principal stars, including Colin Farrell for Actor of the Year, while Kerry Condon, Brendan Gleeson, and Barry Keoghan received supporting recognition.
FILM OF THE YEAR
Also among the ten nominees for Film of the Year are a documentary, Laura Poitras’ penetrating Nan Goldin study All the Beauty and the Bloodshed, and two non-English-language titles: Korean auteur Park Chan-wook’s twisty romantic noir Decision to Leave, which also landed him a Director of the Year nod, and French director Alice Diop’s socially conscious courtroom drama Saint-Omer. Rounding out this highly varied category are Steven Spielberg’s semi-autobiographical The Fabelmans, Oliver Hermanus’ lyrical Kurosawa remake Living, and the year’s highest-grossing blockbuster, Joseph Kosinski’s Top Gun: Maverick.
Though it missed out in the top category, Sebastian Lelio’s richly questioning faith drama The Wonder nabbed an impressive six nominations, including one for British/Irish Film of the Year, where it joins Banshees, Aftersun, Living, and the Irish indie phenomenon The Quiet Girl. Colm Bairéad’s heart-tugger also landed in the Foreign-Language Film of the Year field, alongside Decision to Leave, Saint-Omer, EO, and the Tollywood sensation RRR.
ACTOR/ACTRESS OF THE YEAR
Joining Farrell in Actor of the Year are fellow Irishman Paul Mescal for Aftersun, Bill Nighy for Living, Brendan Fraser in The Whale, and Austin Butler for his uncanny inhabitation of Elvis Presley in Elvis. It was a good morning for actors ambitiously taking on icons: Ana de Armas’ vivid Marilyn Monroe in Blonde and Vicky Krieps’ mischievous Empress Elisabeth of Austria in Corsage made the cut for Actress of the Year, alongside Tár’s Cate Blanchett, Everything Everywhere’s Michelle Yeoh and The Wonder’s Florence Pugh.
“As always, our nominees stand out from others because our members actually see all of the films that are released each year,” says Rich Cline, chair of the Critics’ Circle Film Section. “So these nominations represent a cross-section of the very best of the movies we watched in 2022. And each year it’s great that we can highlight films, filmmakers, and performances that deserve attention.”
THE CEREMONY
This year’s winners in all categories will be announced at London’s May Fair Hotel on 5th February 2023 — with the Circle returning to an in-person gathering after two years of virtual awards ceremonies due to pandemic precautions. Last year’s ceremony saw Jane Campion’s The Power of the Dog take four awards, including Film, Director, and Actor of the Year.
The awards are given by the 200-member Film Section of the Critics’ Circle, the UK’s longest-standing and most prestigious critics’ organization. The May Fair Hotel, part of Edwardian Hotels London, is the main sponsor of the event, alongside the iconic London music venue Koko and creative industry accountants Nyman Libson Paul LLP.
THE NOMINATIONS
FILM OF THE YEAR
Aftersun
All the Beauty and the Bloodshed
The Banshees of Inisherin
Decision to Leave
Everything Everywhere All at Once
The Fabelmans
Living
Saint Omer
Tár
Top Gun: Maverick
FOREIGN-LANGUAGE FILM OF THE YEAR
Decision to Leave
EO
The Quiet Girl
RRR
Saint Omer
DOCUMENTARY OF THE YEAR
All That Breathes
All the Beauty and the Bloodshed
Fire of Love
Kurt Vonnegut: Unstuck in Time
Moonage Daydream
The Attenborough Award:
BRITISH/IRISH FILM OF THE YEAR
Aftersun
The Banshees of Inisherin
Living
The Quiet Girl
The Wonder
DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR sponsored by House of Koko
Todd Field – Tár
Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert – Everything Everywhere All at Once
Martin McDonagh – The Banshees of Inisherin
Park Chan-wook – Decision to Leave
Charlotte Wells – Aftersun
SCREENWRITER OF THE YEAR
Todd Field – Tár
Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert – Everything Everywhere All at Once
Martin McDonagh – The Banshees of Inisherin
Steven Spielberg, Tony Kushner – The Fabelmans
Charlotte Wells – Aftersun
ACTRESS OF THE YEAR sponsored by Nyman Libson Paul LLP
Cate Blanchett – Tár
Ana de Armas – Blonde
Vicky Krieps – Corsage
Florence Pugh – The Wonder
Michelle Yeoh – Everything Everywhere All at Once
ACTOR OF THE YEAR sponsored by House of Koko
Austin Butler – Elvis
Colin Farrell – The Banshees of Inisherin
Brendan Fraser – The Whale
Paul Mescal – Aftersun
Bill Nighy – Living
SUPPORTING ACTRESS OF THE YEAR
Hong Chau – The Whale
Kerry Condon – The Banshees of Inisherin
Dolly De Leon – Triangle of Sadness
Nina Hoss – Tár
Guslagie Malanda – Saint Omer
SUPPORTING ACTOR OF THE YEAR
Tom Burke – The Wonder
Brendan Gleeson – The Banshees of Inisherin
Brian Tyree Henry – Causeway
Barry Keoghan – The Banshees of Inisherin
Ke Huy Quan – Everything Everywhere All at Once
BRITISH/IRISH ACTRESS OF THE YEAR for a body of work
Jessie Buckley – Men, Scrooge: A Christmas Carol, Women Talking
Olivia Colman – Empire of Light, Joyride, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, Scrooge: A Christmas Carol
Florence Pugh – Don’t Worry Darling, The Wonder
Emma Thompson – Good Luck to You Leo Grande, Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical
Letitia Wright – Aisha, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, The Silent Twins
BRITISH/IRISH ACTOR OF THE YEAR for a body of work
Harris Dickinson – See How They Run, Triangle of Sadness, Where the Crawdads Sing
Colin Farrell – After Yang, The Banshees of Inisherin, The Batman, Thirteen Lives
Ralph Fiennes – The Forgiven, The Menu
Paul Mescal – Aftersun
Bill Nighy – Living
THE PHILIP FRENCH AWARD:
BREAKTHROUGH BRITISH/IRISH FILMMAKER
Katy Brand – Good Luck to You, Leo Grande
Colm Bairéad – The Quiet Girl
Frances O’Connor – Emily
Georgia Oakley – Blue Jean
Charlotte Wells – Aftersun
YOUNG BRITISH/IRISH PERFORMER
Kila Lord Cassidy – The Wonder
Catherine Clinch – The Quiet Girl
Frankie Corio – Aftersun
Bella Ramsey – Catherine Called Birdy
Alisha Weir – Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical
BRITISH/IRISH SHORT FILM OF THE YEAR
A Fox in the Night – dir Keeran Anwar Blessie
Groom – dir Leyla Coll-O’Reilly
Honesty – dir Roxy Rezvany
A Letter to Black Men – dir Kiosa Sukami
Scale – dir Joseph Pierce
TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Athena – Matias Boucard, cinematography
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever – Ruth E Carter, costumes
Blonde – Leslie Shatz, sound design
Decision to Leave – Kim Ji-Yong, cinematography
Elvis – Catherine Martin, costumes
Everything Everywhere All at Once – Paul Rogers, film editing
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio – Brian Leif Hansen, animation
RRR – Nick Powell, stunts
Tár – Stephen Griffiths, sound design
The Wonder – Nina Gold, casting
THE FULL LIST OF NOMINATIONS
9:
The Banshees of Inisherin (Disney)
8:
Aftersun (Mubi)
6:
Everything Everywhere All at Once (A24)
Tár (Universal)
The Wonder (Netflix)
4:
Decision to Leave (Mubi)
Living (Lionsgate)
The Quiet Girl (Curzon)
3:
Saint-Omer (Picturehouse)
2:
All the Beauty and the Bloodshed (Altitude)
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (Disney)
Blonde (Netflix)
Elvis (Warner Bros)
The Fabelmans (eOne)
Good Luck to You, Leo Grande (Lionsgate)
Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical (Netflix)
RRR (Dreamz)
Scrooge: A Christmas Carol (Netflix)
Triangle of Sadness (Lionsgate)
The Whale (A24)
1:
After Yang (A24)
Aisha (Sky)
All That Breathes (Dogwoof)
Athena (Netflix)
The Batman (Warner Bros)
Blue Jean (Altitude)
Catherine Called Birdy (Republic)
Causeway (Apple)
Corsage (Picturehouse)
Don’t Worry Darling (Warner Bros)
Emily (Warner Bros)
Empire of Light (Disney)
EO (BFI)
Fire of Love (Dogwoof)
The Forgiven (Universal)
Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio (Netflix)
Joyride (Vertigo)
Kurt Vonnegut: Unstuck in Time (Altitude)
Men (Entertainment)
The Menu (Disney)
Moonage Daydream (Universal)
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (Universal)
See How They Run (Disney)
The Silent Twins (Universal)
Thirteen Lives (Amazon)
Top Gun: Maverick (Paramount)
Where the Crawdads Sing (Sony)
Women Talking (Universal)
The winners of the 43rd London Critics’ Circle Awards will be announced on the 5th of February, 2023.
Source: www.criticscircle.org.uk
Carl Roberts is the News Editor for The Future of the Force. Aside from being our horror genre aficionado, he is also passionate about Star Wars, Marvel, DC, and the Indiana Jones movies. Follow him on Twitter where he uses the force frequently!
