2014 BAFTA Winners: What Does This Mean For The Oscars?

Oh BAFTA, you strange yet wonderful creature. Let’s be honest, for a while last night it looked as if Steve McQueen’s goose was well and truly cooked. But, off the back of last month’s Golden Globes, this unfortunately wasn’t that much of a surprise. With the Academy’s voting open until February 25^th, does BAFTA’s love for AMERICAN HUSTLE and GRAVITY threaten to derail 12 YEARS A SLAVE’s Best Picture hopes?
With no Matthew ‘Chest Beater’ McConaughey in sight, the path was clear for Chiwetel Ejiofor to take Best Actor. Thoroughly justified and clearly loved by everyone in the room, this gave the film the desperate boost it currently needs. But there was to be no such luck for expected Best Supporting shoo-ins, Michael Fassbender and Lupita Nyong’o. Barkhad Abdi’s win for CAPTAIN PHILLIPS may have served as a surprise to many, but after upsetting at the London Critics’ Circle Awards, he was always hot on Fassy’s heels. A very deserving winner, this is a wonderful boost to the newcomer’s profile, even if Jared Leto has the Academy category completely sewn up.
Trust Jennifer Lawrence to come in and make things difficult. She may not have been present due to filming commitments, but the actress definitely made her presence felt. With a Golden Globe and now a BAFTA (her first) for her hilarious turn in AMERICAN HUSTLE, she’s certainly still breathing down Nyong’o’s neck. And, as brilliant as Lawrence’s performance is, this still feels like a big shame for such a fierce, demanding breakout role such as Lupita’s. After taking home a little gold man last year, a win next month would make Lawrence the youngest ever back-to-back winner. But with Lupita the near-concrete choice to take the BAFTA, don’t expect Lawrence’s chances to be over just yet.
GRAVITY may have taken the most BAFTA faces home, but with its surefire technical sweep, this was hardly in doubt. With Alfonso Cuaron a lock for Best Director, it was its triumph as Best British Film that ruffled the most feathers. Though favourite to win, many believed industry annoyance over this bizarrely evolving category would see PHILOMENA bring GRAVITY back down to Earth. But it sadly wasn’t to be. Thankfully, Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope were rewarded for Best Adapted Screenplay, even if this meant snatching another award from under Steve McQueen’s nose.
Last night’s ceremony definitely kept the race a little more open than expected. But who can complain when it’s left things in such an interesting state? All that is left to see is whether the Academy are more crazy about Cuaron, and, if so, whether they will go one further and offer him not just Best Director, but also the big prize of the year.