So, the BAFTA awards have just been handed out (as an aside, can we PLEASE have Stephen Fry to host the Oscars? A Stephen Fry/Helen Mirren partnership would be excellent) so here is my take on who will receive the golden statuettes on February 26th. Best Actor: with a Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild and BAFTA under his belt, it looks like this category is Dujardin's to lose for his role in The Artist. Having seen the movie I agree that his performance is stunning. At this point, George Clooney is probably his closest contender; his performance in The Descendants is apparently also excellent. Brit Gary Oldman's turn in Tinker Tailer Soldier Spy is likely an outside chance at best. Best Actress: based on previous awards and nominations, this category is a close run race between Meryl Streep for The Iron Lady and Viola Davis for The Help. Both actresses gave wonderful performances and I would be happy to see either win. Personally though I'm rooting for Streep just because of her "17 times the bridesmaid never the bride" luck when it comes to awards. Best Supporting Actor: two words: Christopher Plummer. Best Supporting Actress: for the Oscars, Bérénice Béjo is nominated…
Today I went out to the cinema despite the freezing cold to see this movie. Technically, it was excellent, with some superb performances, Gary Oldman and Benedict Cumberbatch both giving standout performances. Of course, it helped that all the main leads are very easy on the eye. However, as a woman, I was shocked by how darned chauvinistic it was. There was barely a single female character who wasn’t a) simple arm candy for the main characters b) a glorified tealady c) an adulteress or d) a damsel in distress the rescue of whom is held out as a reward for one of the main male characters The only positive female character , a smart secretary who seemed to know what was what (who got maybe 10 minutes’ screen time) was portrayed as less than traditionally attractive, and was forcibly put out to pasture (retired) very early on. Sadly, I fear that’s not too far from the truth of life in the 1970s British intelligence service. It’s been a while since I read John Le Carré’s novel on which the movie is based, so I can’t recall exactly if it’s as chauvinistic. When speaking with friends they asked me what…