Baftas 2024 evaluate: A very British reminder that 2023 was more than just Barbenheimer

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At final yr’s Baftas, various issues occurred: a two-hour-and-a-half German-language movie received Best Picture; Irish actors swept the supporting classes; and a Californian heartthrob picked up the Best Actor award for taking part in a Mississippian heartthrob. These moments, nonetheless, have been virtually completely erased in our collective reminiscence in favour of a brief rap interval through which Ariana DeBose relayed how Angela Bassett “did the thing”. It was the type of cringe-inducing viral section that no reside occasion can confect, or really aspire to. So, a yr on, the query is: how does the buttoned-up Baftas observe that viral second in awards present historical past? Or would the flicks, ultimately, be allowed to do the speaking?

“Tonight is going to go smoother than Ken’s chest,” host David Tennant introduced on the off, his kilt one way or the other fluttering within the airless environment of the Royal Festival Hall. Tennant is a kind of actors who’s an A-lister on his residence turf, however solely identified internationally to the neighborhood of nerds that observe Doctor Who or Harry Potter. He has by no means finished a Marvel film, nor has he had a sniff of an Oscar nomination himself. He is more small display than huge display; more The Office than Box Office. And but he has the innate charisma essential to straddle the road between comedian emcee and trade advocate. As a number, he’s within the mould of David Niven, who carried out proceedings on the Oscars thrice between 1958 and 1974: suave, cheeky however, most significantly, a protected pair of fingers.

That mentioned, the Baftas, in its present broadcast kind, is an odd beast. “Even I don’t know who’s won,” Tennant informed his assembled viewers throughout his opening monologue, which was unusual given that I was receiving BBC push notifications saying that Cillian Murphy and Emma Stone had just taken the highest appearing gongs. The determination to air the ceremony following an approximate two-hour delay (and after social media turns into ablaze with information of the winners) cuts all the stress from proceedings. It nixes the opportunity of the type of spontaneous chaos – Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway screwing up the Best Picture announcement or Will Smith forcibly eradicating his spouse’s identify from Chris Rock’s mouth – that have typified the Oscars lately. While that makes the present really feel much less pressing, it additionally permits the Bafta bosses to elide a number of the (politely talking) much less public-facing awards, like Best Sound or Best Animated Short. Their speeches are edited into punchy little packages; the orchestra by no means as soon as required to play winners off stage.

All the identical, it begs the query of what precisely the purpose of the Baftas is. You see, the taxonomy of awards exhibits is actually this: the Golden Globes is the place the actors get drunk, the Oscars is the place they genuinely care; and the Baftas is the place the glamour of proceedings is interspersed with baffling references to British subcultures. (This yr’s iteration alone featured Sophie Ellis-Bextor performing her 2001 hit “Murder on the Dancefloor” and Ted Lasso’s Nick Mohammed roller-skating onstage in character, for some cause, as Mr Swallow.)

The In Memoriam section – all the time a chance for one thing a bit mad – featured one other Ted Lasso forged member, Hannah Waddingham, warbling “Time After Time” – although she missed a trick by omitting “Ariana DeBose’s career” within the record of lately deceased. Presenters of awards ranged from glittering superstars like Cate Blanchett and Idris Elba, to bookings like Andy Serkis or Adjoa Andoh, who’re unlikely to get the identical gig on the Dolby Theatre subsequent month.

This is the nub of the Bafta’s attract: managing to be profoundly parochial with out making it too apparent. This is as a result of the smooth energy of British movie star is one in every of our Most worthy exports (alongside overpaid footballers and monetary companies) and the duty of the Baftas, subsequently, is to make British celebrities appear to be essentially the most fabulously well-known, essential, and gifted individuals on the planet, all with out drawing explicit consideration to the very fact that they’re British.

The Oscars this yr are quick on homegrown expertise (just Carey Mulligan and Emily Blunt are repping on the appearing entrance), however the Baftas felt like an explosion of home creativity, from Christopher Nolan and Samantha Morton, to How to Have Sex and Earth Mama. And viewers on BBC One have been handled to a celebration of movies that broke the mould. “I was sure I wasn’t going to win,” Cord Jefferson informed the gang, receiving his gong for writing American Fiction. “We’re very surprised,” the producer of The Zone of Interest informed the gang after beating Poor Things and Saltburn to Best British Film. “Stunned.”

The Baftas is a mandatory reminder, to British audiences, of the existence of movies exterior of the Marvel world or the Star Wars universe. It is essential that 2023 (a fantastically robust yr for cinema, within the context of the previous decade) is remembered for more than just Barbenheimer and Barry Keoghan’s penis. The Baftas this yr have been an incredible indication of that. It could all really feel a bit neat and sanitised – and admittedly, a lot is misplaced by stripping out the reside dimension – however for an trade that wants eyeballs, this was a really perfect commercial.