The London Film Critics Circle threw its awards ceremony on Sunday evening and while several prizes went to movies that have been hoovering up trophies (La La Land, Moonlight) there were some pleasant surprises for others that have been overlooked this awards season, including Love & Friendship.
La La Land took the top film honours in what has been described as a very tight vote, but other prizes were spread among a variety of titles. Son Of Saul won László Nemes a well-deserved director award, while Love & Friendship took home acting trophies for Kate Beckinsale and Tom Bennett. In a weird tie, Bennett shared the award with Moonlight's Mahershala Ali, and you couldn't imagine two more different, though excellent performances.
Elsewhere, it was also a mix of the expected (Casey Affleck continuing his run as a best actor contender) and entertaining (Isabelle Huppert took both the actress award and the Dilys Powell). I, Daniel Blake was named British/Irish film, while A Monster Calls' Lewis MacDougall scored some much needed recognition for his work.
The full list of winners is below.
Film Of The Year
La La Land
Director of the Year
László Nemes, Son Of Saul
Actor Of The Year
Casey Affleck, Manchester By The Sea
Actress Of The Year
Isabelle Huppert, Things To Come
Supporting Actor Of The Year (TIE)
Mahershala Ali, Moonlight; Tom Bennett, Love & Friendship
Supporting Actress Of The Year
Naomie Harris, Moonlight
Screenwriter Of The Year
Kenneth Lonergan, Manchester By The Sea
Foreign Language Film Of The Year
Toni Erdmann
Documentary Of The Year
Fire At Sea
Technical Achievement Of The Year
Sturla Brandth Grovlen, cinematographer, Victoria
British/Irish Film Of The Year
I, Daniel Blake
British/Irish Actor Of The Year
Andrew Garfield, Hacksaw Ridge and Silence
British/Irish Actress Of The Year
Kate Beckinsale, Love & Friendship
Breakthrough British/Irish Filmmaker Of The Year
Babak Anvari, Under The Shadow
Young British/Irish Performer Of The Year
Lewis MacDougall, A Monster Calls
British/Irish Short Film Of The Year
Sweet Maddie Stone
Dilys Powell Award For Excellence In Film
Isabelle Huppert