Conclave, Edward Berger’s papal thriller about a conflicted cardinal overseeing the election of the new pope, heads into next month’s BAFTA Film Awards with the most nominations, with music-themed and horror productions also faring well at Britain’s top movie honors. It is running for 12 awards- one more than its closest rival, Jacques Audiard’s much-decorated transgender musical Emilia Perez.
Based on the novel by Robert Harris, Berger’s film hopes to repeat the surprise sweep of his previous film, All Quiet on the Western Front, which won seven awards at the ceremony two years ago, including best picture and best director.
“Emilia Perez,” which mixes the diverse genres of musical, crime and comedy, followed “Conclave” on Wednesday with 11 nominations. The Spanish-language film stars Zoe Saldana as a lawyer who helps a drug cartel, played by Karla Sofia Gascon, fake his death and transition from a man to a woman.
Gascon got a leading actress nomination, while Saldana and singer-actor Selena Gomez, who plays the drug lord’s wife, were recognized in the supporting actress category. Regarded as one of the top contenders at this year’s awards season, “Emilia Perez” also received nods for best film and director for French filmmaker Jacques Audiard.
Aside from nodes in those categories for Peter Straughan’s screenplay and a clutch of craft awards, actors Ralph Fiennes and Isabella Rossellini are up in the leading actor and supporting actress categories.
Isabella Rossellini was nominated for best supporting actress for playing a nun in the movie, which is based on the novel by British writer Robert Harris. Ralph Fiennes will compete against current favorite Adrien Brody for his role in Brady Corbet’s epic postwar drama The Brutalist, which is also up for best film and best director, supporting actress (Felicity Jones), supporting actor (Guy Pearce) and four other awards.
When the BAFTA revealed the longlists a fortnight ago, there was surprise that three of the actors assumed to be shoo-ins in the leading actress race were absent: Maria’s Angelina Jolie and Tilda Swinton and Julianne Moore for The Room Next Door- both dramas were entirely locked out of contention.
Frontrunner Nicole Kidman for Babygirl failed to make the final cut, meaning the category looks remarkably hard to predict, with Demi Moore the likely leader, off the back of her Golden Globe win for body horror The Substance, closely followed by Emilia Perez’s Karla Sofia Gascon and Wicked’s Cynthia Erivo.