Double take for Helena Bonham Carter in the battle for film honours

11 April 2012
The Weekender

Sign up to our free weekly newsletter for exclusive competitions, offers and theatre ticket deals

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

Talents from Jamie Bell to Harold Pinter are in the running for the Evening Standard British Film Awards.

The longlist, announced today, builds on the success story of Atonement, starring Keira Knightley and James McAvoy, at the Golden Globes and in nominations for the Orange British Academy Awards.

Scroll down for more...

Tribute: Helena Bonham Carter in the romance Conversations With Other Women

Tribute: Helena Bonham Carter in the romance Conversations With Other Women

But there is recognition, too, for several films which have been overlooked by other awards.

They include Sunshine, the Danny Boyle/Alex Garland sci-fi drama, Hallam Foe, the story of a teenage misfit starring Bell, and It's A Free World..., Ken Loach's latest bid to tug the nation's social conscience. Each film has secured three nominations.

There Will Be Blood, the saga of an American oil prospector, gets nods for both its highly acclaimed leading man, Daniel Day-Lewis, and for Jonny Greenwood, the Radiohead guitarist, for his ambitious score.

When Did You Last See Your Father?, the adaptation of Blake Morrison's memoir, also picks up two nominations - for Jim Broadbent and its young star Matthew Beard.

The breadth of British acting talent is revealed in the best actor and best actress categories.

Both Knightley and McAvoy get a shot at honours for their performances in Atonement, the war-time love story adapted from Ian McEwan's novel.

Romola Garai, their more understated costar, is also in with a chance for best actress - with competition from the ranks of Samantha Morton, Tilda Swinton, Golden Globe winner Julie Christie and Helena Bonham Carter, who is listed for her witty turn as a pie shop owner in Sweeney Todd and the romance Conversations With Other Women.

McAvoy's rivals include newcomer Sam Riley for his portrayal of Curtis in Control, Bell, Broadbent, Day-Lewis and Gabriel Byrne in Australian drama Jindabyne.

The strength of British writing is also acknowledged with Pinter, Christopher Hampton and Ronald Harwood - as well as Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? creator Steven Knight - competing for best screenplay.

Scroll down for more...

Nominees: Jamie Bell in Hallam Foe; Romola Garai in Atonement

Leading men: James McAvoy in Atonement and Daniel Day-Lewis in There Will Be Blood

Leading men: James McAvoy in Atonement and Daniel Day-Lewis in There Will Be Blood

Blue Blood, a low-budget documentary about students from Oxford University trying to make it into the Varsity boxing squad, is the wildcard entry for best film.

Music seemed so strong this year that the judges - Derek Malcolm and Charlotte O'Sullivan of the Evening Standard, James Christopher of The Times, Tim Robey of the Telegraph and Catherine Shoard of the Sunday Telegraph - instituted a best film score category to replace best comedy in what was deemed a poor year for humour.

Contenders alongside Greenwood include the songwriters for Once, a musical love story about a busker and an immigrant, and Underworld's score for Sunshine.

The results will be published in the Evening Standard on 4 February.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in