The UK’s leading film critics announced their nominations today at an event hosted by actors Jing Lusi and Ényì Okoronkwo at The May Fair Hotel. Andrew Haigh’s drama All of Us Strangers led the field with nine nominations, followed by Christopher Nolan’s epic biopic Oppenheimer with seven and a trio of powerhouse festival films with six: Celine Song’s Past Lives, Yorgos Lanthimos’ Poor Things and Jonathan Glazer’s The Zone of Interest. Greta Gerwig’s Barbie received five nominations.
All of these films are in the running for Film of the Year alongside the French courtroom drama Anatomy of a Fall, Alexander Payne’s The Holdovers, Todd Haynes’ May December and Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon. Cast members from each of these films are named in the acting categories, including lead actors Andrew Scott, Paul Giamatti and Cillian Murphy and lead actresses Lily Gladstone, Sandra Hüller, Greta Lee and Emma Stone.
In the new Animated Film category, Spain’s Robot Dreams is contending with two films from Japan, The Boy and the Heron and Suzume, plus inventive genre favourites Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem. And in the new Breakthrough Performer award, homegrown newcomers Mia McKenna Bruce (How to Have Sex) and Vivian Oparah (Rye Lane) are nominated alongside Greta Lee (Past Lives), Dominic Sessa (The Holdovers) and Venice winner Cailee Spaeny (Priscilla).
At this year’s ceremony, Jeffrey Wright will be presented with the London Critics’ top honour The Dilys Powell Award for Excellence in Film, named after the legendary critic. Wright is also nominated this year as lead actor in American Fiction. He began his career on the stage, transitioning to film in 1996 with the title role in Basquiat. Notable films include Syriana (2005), Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch (2021) and Asteroid City (2023), and Rustin (2023). He played Felix Leiter in three James Bond films opposite Daniel Craig, and also appeared in The Hunger Games and The Batman. Among many accolades, Wright has previously won an Emmy, a Tony and a Golden Globe.
“We are thrilled to present such an iconic actor as Jeffrey Wright with the Dilys Powell Award. And we are planning another special award as well, new this year, to be announced soon. As always, our nominees stand out from other awards because our members actually take the time to watch all of the year’s films,” says Rich Cline, chair of the Critics’ Circle Film Section. “So these nominations represent a cross-section of the very best movies we saw in 2023. Instead of being critical, it’s nice to celebrate films, filmmakers and performances that deserve attention.”
This year’s winners in all categories will be announced at London’s May Fair Hotel on 4th February 2024. Last year’s ceremony saw Todd Field’s Tár take three awards, including Film, Director and Actress of the Year for Cate Blanchett. Michelle Yeoh was also on hand to receive the Dilys Powell Award, and Florence Pugh collected her British/Irish Actress prize.
The 44th London Critics’ Circle Film Awards are voted by the 210-member Film Section of the Critics’ Circle, the UK’s longest-standing and most prestigious critics’ organisation. Films are automatically eligible if they are released in cinemas or on premiere streaming services between mid-February 2023 and mid-February 2024. The May Fair Hotel, part of Edwardian Hotels London, is the main sponsor of the event, alongside non-alcoholic sparkling wine Wild Idol, cocktail specialists Gattertop, Guisborough Brewery, Reddit, MetFilm, Cinemadix, print solutions experts MTA Digital and creative industry accountants Nyman Libson Paul LLP.
