Here's what this year's BAFTAs tell us about the Oscars race and it's bad news for Benedict Cumberbatch

Date:
Mon, 14 Mar 2022 11:58:52 +0000

Description:
The 2022 BAFTAs tease Oscars success for Jane Campion and The Power of the
Dog but not Benedict Cumberbatch.

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After Januarys muted Golden Globes ceremony signalled a dramatic fall from grace for the once esteemed awards body, the BAFTAs have firmly established themselves as the most important precursor to the Oscars race in any given year.

Not only do the British-awarded trophies now sit a comfortable second to any Academy Awards listed on the resumes, Wikipedia entries and obituaries of actors and filmmakers, but they also now represent the biggest indicator of where those Academy Awards will end up come the end of March.

So, with this years BAFTAs done and dusted, what do the results tell us about the 2022 Oscars race?

Long story short: expect an Academy Awards ceremony on March 28 of few surprises. Well be discussing the outcome of the big four BAFTA trophies
(Best Film, Best Director, Lead Actor and Lead Actress) and what this means for their respective Oscar equivalents below, but the tale of the tape has us anticipating headline wins for Jane Campions The Power of the Dog and craft hauls for Denis Villeneuves Dune (Benedict Cumberbatch, though, doesnt look likely to snag a long-awaited Best Actor Oscar). Best Picture (Image credit: Netflix)

The BAFTAs equivalent to Best Picture, Best Film, was awarded to Jane
Campions The Power of the Dog at the London ceremony and itd be a huge upset to see the Academy Award go anywhere else come March 28. The critically-acclaimed Netflix movie which tells the story of a menacing rancher (Benedict Cumberbatch) who doesnt take kindly to the arrival of his brothers new wife (Kirsten Dunst) and her son (Kodi Smit-McPhee) has been
the odds-on favorite to take home Best Picture since the nominations were announced last month, with only Kenneth Brannaghs Belfast nipping at its heels.

Brannagh may find some solace in the knowledge that the BAFTAs Best Film winner has been prior to Nomadland last year different to the eventual Best Picture winner for six years running, but Campions movie has all the momentum it needs to bag the double this year. Best Director (Image credit: Shutterstock / Featureflash Photo Agency)

Unsurprisingly, the same is true of Jane Campion herself. Having taken home the BAFTA for Best Director, the New Zealand-born filmmaker is a shoo-in to pick up the same award at this years Oscars for her brilliant work on The Power of the Dog.

The other nominees in this category include the aforementioned Kenneth
Branagh (for Belfast), Ryusuke Hamaguchi (for Drive My Car), Paul Thomas Anderson (for Licorice Pizza) and Steven Spielberg (for West Side Story), but not even the legendary status of the latter looks likely to cause an upset here. Best Actor (Image credit: Warner Bros.)

Perhaps the biggest story to emerge from this years BAFTAs ceremony, Will Smith took home the Lead Actor trophy for his performance as Richard Williams in King Richard. Having already snagged several acting gongs on the awards circuit this year, Smiths triumph wasnt entirely unexpected but it was thought that home field advantage may have favored The Power of the Dogs Benedict Cumberbatch in this category.

As the psychologically troubled rancher Phil Burbank, Cumberbatchs
performance deserves as much recognition as Smiths, though the latters
triumph on both sides of the pond suggests Cumberbatch wont be walking away with an Oscar this year. Best Actress (Image credit: STX Films)

For our money, the only one of the big four Oscars not to share the result of its BAFTA equivalent this year will be Best Actress because, well, itd be impossible to do so. In a rare occurrence, none of the six women nominated
for the Lead Actress BAFTA (Licorice Pizzas Alana Haim, House of Guccis Lady Gaga, CODAs Emilia Jones, The Worst Person in the Worlds Renate Reinsve and After Loves Joanna Scanlan) were nominated for an Oscar.

Scanlan took home the trophy on the night, but Kristen Stewart remains the favorite to win Best Actress at this years Academy Awards for her performance as Princess Diana in Pablo Larrans Spencer. Nicole Kidman, nominated for her work on Being the Ricardos, also has a shot at Oscars glory, as does the Eyes of Tammy Fayes Jessica Chastain. The Lost Daughters Olivia Colman and
Parallel Mothers Penelope Cruz make up the remaining five nominees and in truth, any one of them deserves the trophy this year. These are the best Disney Plus movies to stream right now



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/news/heres-what-this-years-baftas-tell-us-about-the- oscars-race-and-its-bad-news-for-benedict-cumberbatch/


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