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 favourites 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.
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.
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.”
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’ organisation. 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.
