Atonement leads charge for Critics' Circle Film Awards

Joe Wright's drama nominated in eight categories.

by Amber Wilkinson

Atonement - fresh from a slew of Golden Globe nominations - leads the pack vying for the London Critics' Circle Film Awards.

The Epic British drama, directed by Joe Wright, leads the list of nominees with eight nominations, including The Attenborough Award for British Film of the Year, British Actor of the Year for James McAvoy and British Actress of the Year for Keira Knightley.

Angelina Jolie, George Clooney and Sienna Miller are also among the stars nominated for the 28th Critics’ Circle Film Awards to be held in aid of the NSPCC, on Friday February 8 at London’s Grosvenor House Hotel.

Atonement faces tough competition for British Film of the Year from Once, Control, Eastern Promises and This Is England. Summer blockbuster The Bourne Ultimatum will need to see off No Country For Old Men, The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford, There Will Be Blood, and Zodiac to be crowned Film of the Year.

The awards ceremony will be presented by broadcasters Mariella Frostrup and Paul Gambaccini.

The full list of nominees is below:

Film of the Year


There Will Be Blood

The Attenborough Award for British Film of the Year




Director of the Year
Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck -
Paul Thomas Anderson – There Will Be Blood
Joel and Ethan Coen –
David Fincher –
Cristian Mungiu –

British Director of the Year
Anton Corbijn –
Paul Greengrass –
Shane Meadows –
Joe Wright –
Danny Boyle –

Actor of the Year
Ulrich Mühe –
Casey Affleck –
George Clooney –
Tommy Lee Jones – In the Valley of Elah
Daniel Day-Lewis – There Will Be Blood

Actress of the Year
Laura Linney – The Savages
Marion Cotillard –
Maggie Gyllenhaal –
Angelina Jolie –
Anamaria Marinca –

British Actor of the Year
Sam Riley –
James McAvoy –
Christian Bale –
Jim Broadbent -
Jonny Lee Miller –

British Actress of the Year
Samantha Morton –
Julie Christie –
Keira Knightley –
Helena Bonham Carter – Sweeney Todd
Sienna Miller – Interview

British Actor in a Supporting Role
Tom Wilkinson –
Toby Jones –
Alfred Molina –
Toby Kebell –
Albert Finney – Before The Devil Knows You’re Dead

British Actress in a Supporting Role
Saoirse Ronan –
Imelda Staunton –
Tilda Swinton –
Kelly Macdonald –
Vanessa Redgrave –

Screenwriter of the Year
Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck –
Joel and Ethan Coen –
Paul Thomas Anderson – There Will Be Blood
Ronald Harwood – The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Christopher Hampton –

British Breakthrough – Acting
Saoirse Ronan –
Sam Riley –
Thomas Turgoose –
Benedict Cumberbatch –
Dakota Blue Richards –

British Breakthrough – Film-making
John Carney, writer and director –
Sarah Gavron, director –
Anton Corbijn, director –
Matt Greenhalgh, writer –
Stevan Riley, writer, director, producer –

Foreign Language Film of the Year
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
4 Months, 3 Weeks & 2 Days


Share this with others on...
News

Stories still unspoken Interview with Thomas Pollack, Andrew McNeill and Katarina Kokenyova about Rozkvet

Where crows are watching JP Davidson and Craig Russell on nature, belief, UK horror and The Cull

Truth and lies Sean Hogan on true crime documentaries, unknowable characters and The Dark Gets In

A walking contradiction Sinéad O'Shea on James 'Fergie' Chambers Jr and All About The Money

Unconventional families Milcho Manchevski on being blacklisted and making Sister Brother Manhole Cover

Expecting the unexpected Jordan Mark Windsor and Sean Wallace on Mum, I’m Alien Pregnant

More news and features

We're bringing you all the latest news and reviews from the Belfast Film Festival, the Cheltenham International Film Festival and the Leeds International Film Festival.



We're looking forward to the Thessaloniki International Film Festival, the French Film Festival and DOC NYC.



We've recently brought you coverage of Halloween Frightfest, the Scottish Queer International Film Festival, Newfest, the London Film Festival, the New York Film Festival, Grimmfest and Beyond Fest.



Read our full for more.


Visit our festivals section.

Interact

Don't forget that you can follow us on YouTube for trailers of festival films and more. You can also find us on Mastodon, Instagram and Bluesky.


It's a busy time for festivals and here's the latest:


Sundance Announces Legacy line-up of archive films


Frightfest Newcastle event announced for May 2027


French Film Festival UK Programme announced


Tallinn Black Nights Documentary line-up and Special Screenings announced


London Winners announced