The Latest: ‘Three Billboards’ named best picture in Britain

LONDON — The Latest on the British Academy Film Awards (all times local):

9:25 p.m.

“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” has capped a winning evening at the British Academy Film Awards by taking the trophy for best picture.

The tragicomic tale of a bereaved mother in search of justice beat rivals including “The Shape of Water” and “Darkest Hour.”

Writer-director Martin McDonagh said a film about an angry woman who decides to act is appropriate in an awards season dominated by the campaign against sexual misconduct and bullying.

He said at Sunday’s awards ceremony in London that “our film is a hopeful one in lots of ways, but it’s also an angry one. As we’ve seen this year, sometimes anger is the only way to get people to listen and to change.”

The British Academy Film Awards are Britain’s equivalent of the Oscars.

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9:15 p.m.

Frances McDormand has won the best actress prize at the British Academy Film Awards for her performance as a bereaved mother in “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.”

Critics and viewers have called McDormand riveting as a mother seeking justice for her murdered daughter in Martin McDonagh’s tragicomic film.

Unlike most women in attendance, McDormand did not dress all in black in a gesture against sexual harassment. She opted for a red and black dress.

McDormand acknowledged her attire, noting “I have a little problem with compliance. But I want you to know that I stand in full solidarity with my sisters tonight in black.”

Source: washingtonpost