Craig Fairbrass has been nominated for an Outstanding Performance Award at the 8th annual National Film Awards.
On the 20th of April, the National Film Academy announced the nominations for the 8th National Film Awards 2022, with the ceremony taking place on the 4th of July at The Porchester, London. While there is the usual and expected inclusion of illustrious British screen stars, Judi Dench (Belfast), Jude Law (Fantastic Beasts), Thandie Newton (God’s Country), and Chiwetel Ejiofor (The Man Who Fell to Earth), there is another whose inclusion may cause a raised eyebrow for some. Craig Fairbrass, the evergreen hardman and face of the British Independent gangster film, has bagged himself an Outstanding Performance nomination for his lead role as Steve Mackleson in Ross McCall’s 2020 film, A Violent Man. The film is a claustrophobic and intimate portrayal of the physical and mental damage wrought by long-term prison incarceration, requiring Fairbrass to carry the film’s emotional and narrative core; a responsibility and presence which has turned the eyes of some critics who have hailed his performance as a career best.
Fairbrass has experienced both a critical and commercial career renaissance for his roles in Villain and in Gerard Johnson’s taut, tense, and brooding film, Muscle,
But this recognition by the National Film Awards should not come as a surprise. Fairbrass won Best Actor at the 2018 National Film Awards for Rise of the Footsoldier 3. But this nomination is different. In the last few years, Fairbrass has experienced both a critical and commercial career renaissance for his roles in Villain and in Gerard Johnson’s taut, tense, and brooding film, Muscle, a role which delighted both a Cannes audience, and film heavyweights, Sight & Sound. Could it be that Fairbrass is teetering on the verge of a finally-arrived darling of British film? These roles have seen Fairbrass flourish onscreen, allowing a depth and expanse on the hardman straight-to-DVD roles that have crafted Fairbrass’s screen persona and defined his longevity, pricking the interest of film critics who have not been so kind to the decidedly masculine Rise of the Footsoldier series.
The role and film ask a different kind of physicality from Fairbrass, one of caged fierceness and strangled masculinity.
A Violent Man has demanded Fairbrass to display a deftness of touch in playing Steve, a role which necessitates emotional and character nuance. His hulking stature, so often called upon for screen performances of machismo sexuality and violence, is left exposed here in the frame it pervades. The role and film ask a different kind of physicality from Fairbrass, one of caged fierceness and strangled masculinity, resulting in a performance pointing to an interiority the audience is never allowed to comprehend. Craig Fairbrass deserves all the praise he has received for playing a role of such subtlety and complexity. The length of onscreen time, dialogue, and sheer physical presence do not allow Fairbrass one wrong move, a challenge he was clearly ready for. Anyone who has watched Gary Oldman in Slow Horses will see the relish Oldman had in playing failed spy, Jackson Lamb. You sense the same for Fairbrass in A Violent Man.
A nomination in the Outstanding Performance category feels somewhat fitting for Fairbrass.
And this is why we need to talk about Craig. British low-budget films do not often receive the reception or exposure they deserve. But British independent film is rich with talent and Fairbrass is an example of what a performer is capable of, given the right roles. Part of Craig Fairbrass’ longevity can be attributed to his commitment to British independent filmmaking. So, it is good to see Fairbrass and A Violent Man nominated at the National Film Awards – recognition for an idiosyncratic and determined career Fairbrass has fashioned for himself. A nomination in the Outstanding Performance category feels somewhat fitting for Fairbrass. Whilst sharing the category with the likes of Benedict Cumberbatch, Billie Piper, and Jamie Dornan gives a sense of ‘finally’ for an actor who has never gone away nor given up. You wouldn’t write him off from winning, would you?
You can vote for Craig Fairbrass in A Violent Man here: https://www.nationalfilmawards...
Kat Flint-Nicol
