Bafta: Why The Danish Girl is the value pick for Outstanding British Film
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Brooklyn is the red-hot favourite to land the award for Outstanding British Film at this year’s Baftas but The Danish Girl could be where the value lies.
John Crowley’s tale of an Irish immigrant caught between two loves and two countries is the 8/11 jolly to take the gong but given the pedigree of The Danish Girl’s leading man, Eddie Redmayne, the second favourite could tempt many film fans at longer odds of 7/4.
Redmayne is the golden boy of British acting at present having scooped a Best Actor Oscar, Bafta, Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild award for his portrayal of Professor Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything.
The 34-year-old is nominated for each of those prizes again this time round and with his apparent Midas touch it would be no surprise to see Tom Hooper film inspired by the lives of Danish painters Lili Elbe and Gerda Wegener walk away with the trophy.
The betting suggests this category is a two horse race with Ex Machina (10/1), 45 Years (12/), Amy (16/1) and The Lobster (16/1) all seemingly out of the running.
Brooklyn has been well received by critics but nominations have not always turned into wins for the drama with just 19 wins coming from 78 awards nominations so far.
The film could also miss out on a series of other Bafta gongs, with Saoirse Ronan a distant 6/1 for the Best Actress award behind Brie Larson at 1/4 for The Room.
Julie Walters is also in the running for Best Supporting Actress but at 25/1 the veteran lags far behind Jennifer Jason Leigh (12/1, The Hateful Eight), Alicia Vikander (7/2, Ex Machina), Kate Winslet (9/4, Steve Jobs) and Rooney Mara (4/5, Carol).
So while Brooklyn dominates the nominations ahead of this year’s Baftas it could all end in disappointment – except for those who backed The Danish Girl to triumph perhaps.
