Entertainment

The Brutalist named film of the year by UK Critics’ Circle

Directed and co-written by Brady Corbet, it tells the story of a Hungarian-Jewish architect who is separated from his wife as he flees the Nazis.

Adrien Brody stars in The Brutalist, named film of the year at the London Critics’ Circle Awards
Adrien Brody stars in The Brutalist, named film of the year at the London Critics’ Circle Awards (Ian West/PA)
By Rosie Shead, PA

The Brutalist, a film about a Hungarian-Jewish architect played by Adrien Brody, has been named film of the year by the UK Critics’ Circle.

Directed and co-written by Brady Corbet, it tells the story of Laszlo Toth (played by Brody) who is separated from his wife Erzsebet (played by Felicity Jones) and orphaned niece as he flees Nazi extermination to Manhattan.

Ralph Fiennes won actor of the year for his portrayal of a Vatican cardinal in Edward Berger’s thriller Conclave, adapted from a novel by Robert Harris.

Ralph Fiennes was named actor of the year at the ceremony in London
Ralph Fiennes was named actor of the year at the ceremony in London (Lucy North/PA)

The film also was named British/Irish film of the year at the ceremony at the May Fair Hotel in London.

RaMell Ross won director of the year for Nickel Boys, adapted from the Pulitzer-prize winning novel by Colson Whitehead, which chronicles the friendship between two young African-American men after they are sent to reform school in the 1960s.

The film also picked up the technical achievement award for cinematographer Jomo Fray.

Marianne Jean-Baptiste was named actress of the year for her role in Hard Truths, Mike Leigh’s London-set drama comedy, which tells the story of a woman who suffers from depression and her relationships with her family.

Best supporting actress of the year was won by Zoe Saldana for Jacques Audiard’s musical Emilia Perez.

Kieran Culkin was named supporting actor of the year for his role in A Real Pain, while Jesse Eisenberg won screenwriter of the year for the same dark comedy, which follows two cousins as they visit Poland on a “Holocaust tour” to honour their late grandmother and connect with their heritage.

Saoirse Ronan took home British/Irish performer of the year for her work on Blitz and The Outrun, while Nykiya Adams won young British/Irish performer of the year for her role in Bird.

James Bond star Daniel Crag won the Dilys Powell award for excellence in film, which was presented to him on stage by Ralph Fiennes and Lesley Manville.

Zoe Saldana won supporting actress of the year for her role in Emilia Perez
Zoe Saldana won supporting actress of the year for her role in Emilia Perez (Lucy North/PA)

The latest Wallace and Gromit film, Vengeance Most Fowl, which premiered on BBC One on Christmas Day, was named feature of the year.

All We Imagine As Light, directed by Payal Kapadia, won foreign language film of the year, while No Other Land, directed by Yuval Abraham, Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal and Rachel Szor, won documentary of the year.

Rich Peppiatt was named breakthrough British/Irish filmmaker at the ceremony for Kneecap, which depicts the origin story of Belfast rap group Kneecap.

The 45th London Critics’ Circle Film Awards were voted for by the 210 members of the film section of the Critics’ Circle.