Heath Ledger, Jake Gyllenhaal in Brokeback Mountain. Photo: Kimberly French / Focus Films
Brokeback Mountain was the big winner at the BAFTA 2006 Awards. Based on E. Annie Proulx's short story about the doomed love affair between two Wyoming ranch hands, Brokeback Mountain won a total of four awards: best picture, best director (Ang Lee), best adapted screenplay (Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana), and, surprisingly, best supporting actor for Jake Gyllenhaal. (While accepting the best film award, producer James Schamus jokingly complained that his film has been unfairly labeled "the gay cowboy movie," when it actually is a "universal love story about two gay shepherds.")
Two actors portraying real-life characters also came out on top: Philip Seymour Hoffman was chosen best actor for Capote, in which he plays flamboyant writer Truman Capote, while Reese Witherspoon won as best actress for her performance as Johnny Cash's companion and later wife, June Carter, in Walk the Line.
Hoffman and Witherspoon defeated two British favorites, The Constant Gardener stars Ralph Fiennes (who has been unjustly neglected on this side of the Atlantic) and Rachel Weisz (who, also on this side of the Atlantic, has been unjustly getting "best supporting" wins and nominations for what amounts to a lead role). In fact, Fernando Meirelles' solid, political-cum-romantic thriller won only one award out of its ten nominations — for best editing (Claire Simpson). The film even lost out the best British film award, which went to Nick Park and Steve Box's animated feature Wallace & Gromit in The Curse of the Were-Rabbit.
Another big loser was American actor-director-producer George Clooney, who received more nominations — four in all — than most films, but who came away empty-handed. As a consolation prize, David Puttnam, winner of the British Academy's Fellowship Award, thanked all the filmmakers of this year's nominated films, particularly Clooney, for proving him wrong. The veteran producer acknowledged that, contrary to what he had said in the past, movies that both inform and entertain can still get made.
For the record, Jake Gyllenhaal (above, with Anne Hathaway) was guilty of stealing Clooney's thunder by unexpectedly winning in the supporting actor category. Clooney had been nominated for two films — Syriana and Good Night, and Good Luck. For the latter, he also received nods in the best director and best film (as one of the producers) categories. Adding insult to injury, Gyllenhaal won for what's actually a lead role.
De battre mon coeur s'est arrêté / The Beat That My Heart Skipped (above, with Niels Arestrup and Romain Duris) was the surprise winner in the best foreign-language film category. Directed by Jacques Audiard, the French-made psychological drama stars Romain Duris as a thug who is unsure if he should stick by his scummy father, or attempt a new life as a concert pianist.
The overblown Crash won two awards: best original screenplay for Paul Haggis (who also directed) and Bobby Moresco, and best supporting actress for British-Zimbabwean performer Thandie Newton.