The Baftas Need To Try Harder To Shake Their Lacklustre Reputation - HuffPost Verdict

K E Y   P O I N T S

• Joanna Lumley hosted the ceremony for the first time
• Actresses wore black in support of the Time’s Up movement
• ‘Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri’ was the big winner with five awards 
• Other winners included Allison Janney (‘I, Tonya’) and Gary Oldman (‘Darkest Hour’)
• Daniel Kaluuya took home the EE Rising Star prize 
• Salma Hayek provided some unexpected laughs with her Best Actor award presentation. 

S N A P   V E R D I C T

It’s no secret that the Baftas are one of the more lacklustre events on the awards season calendar and Sunday’s ceremony did nothing to shake this reputation. 

Things got off to a good start and in Joanna Lumley, Bafta had all the makings of a fresh, fun host. Her opening monologue broke the ice nicely, with a number of friendly jibes at some of the A-listers in the room receiving enthusiastic responses. However, the star’s script let her down on one too many occasions, with a clunky reference to the Oscars’ envelope fiasco winning little more than a few weak laughs. 

‘Get Out’ star Daniel Kaluuya was the first actor to receive an award and we’re not ashamed to admit to welling up when he used a strong percentage of his time on-stage to thank his mother.

Sadly, this strong start set the bar too high and as the evening (slowly) rolled on, Salma Hayek provided one of the few fantastic moments with her Best Actor presentation jokes.

When it came to the rest of the accolades, there were no shocks in store, and ‘Three Billboard Outside Ebbing, Missouri’ took home five prizes, including Best Film, Best Actress and Best Supporting Actor.

Here’s hoping there’ll be a few surprises at next month’s Oscars.

B E S T   L I N E S

Joanna Lumey on Hugh Grant: 

Daniel Kaluuya after accepting the EE Rising Star Award: 

Frances McDormand on why she decided not to wear black:

B E S T   S P E E C H