BAFTAs 2012: The year of genre revival

 

After watching the BAFTAs, it’s clear that patterns emerge in cinema. This year could be labeled the year of revival. Whilst Drive brought film noir back to life, The Artist stripped back all dialogue to transport us back to a time without sound or colour. Although we can have all we want now with films, 3D, HD, IMAX and all the latest technology in cinema, it seems that we’ve grown weary of these gimmicks after having 3D so eagerly thrust in our face as the future of cinema. However, last year, pixar movie Mars Needs Moms was a $175 million flop, giving those in the industry the harsh reality that 3D was no longer the easy way to selling tickets.

Furthermore, the obvious blockbusters have not done as well this year as the aforementioned The Artist cleaned up at the BAFTAs (winning 7 awards in total). Recently in Liverpool, filmgoers received refunds after complaining that The Artist was a silent film and in black and white. Many found this ridiculous and this shows in the success of the film, the BAFTA awards immortalizing it as the revival of old fashioned Hollywood. However, it’s unclear as to whether this will be an anomaly or others will want to follow in the footsteps of Michel Hazanavicius’ winning formula.

2011 also saw the line between actor and director blur more than ever which was clear in the Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer award. As one of my favourite films in 2011, I was happy to see Richard Ayoade (previously renowned for his role of Moss in The It Crowd) receive recognition for his directorial debut with Submarine. Other notable nominees were the wonderful Joe Cornish and Paddy Considine. Paddy Considine in particular as he was also involved in Submarine, making his winning of the award for Tyrannosaur completely deserved.

Although, what delighted me less was the amount of cinema I had missed this year. Having only ventured to the cinema for Submarine and The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, I found myself recognizing a lot of films but hadn’t seen any of them. As I got through watching the BAFTAs, I wrote down all of the films that I hadn’t watched that were featured and it came to the long list below:

So from watching the BAFTAs, I’ve learnt that I need to watch more films, silence is golden and more importantly, Brad Pitt severely needs a haircut. 

Aurora Mitchell