Gardener triumphs again

Acclaimed British thriller The Constant Gardener scored a double triumph at the Evening Standard British Film Awards.

The movie - adored by critics and audiences alike - won best film at the ceremony at the Ivy. Ralph Fiennes won the best actor award for his portrayal of the Foreign Office diplomat seeking to uncover the truth behind his wife's death in the adaptation of John Le Carré's novel.

It was the day after Rachel Weisz had won yet another award for her performance in the film - best supporting actress at the Screen Actors Guild Awards in Los Angeles. The raft of awards for The Constant Gardener is a good sign of Oscar glory, the nominations for which are announced later today.

It is the first time Fiennes, 43, has picked up the Evening Standard award although he was nominated in 1995 for Schindler's List. Fiennes, who was at the ceremony with his actress partner Francesca Annis, said he felt the awards for the movie vindicated the decision not to sell out to Hollywood. "We fought for it to be a British film," he said. "Le Carré could have quite easily gone to a bigger studio but the producer Simon Channing-Williams lobbied him with his vision. In the end it is a very thorough love story and is political in a way that is quite rare. So for us to be celebrating the film tonight is a good thing."

Natasha Richardson was best actress for her performance in David Mackenzie's acclaimed Asylum, pipping Weisz and Keira Knightley in Pride & Prejudice.

Richardson, 42, was honoured for her role as the wife of a psychiatrist who embarks on a torrid affair with an asylum inmate. Richardson was also executive producer on the film, based on Patrick McGrath's novel. She said: "We were in the middle of production and it looked like a disaster. So the fact that my part is recognised is very touching."

English animation supremo Nick Park won The Alexander Walker special award for his contribution to British film. It capped another phenomenal year for 47-year-old Park - The Curse of the Were-Rabbit grossed over £30 million in Britain alone.

Tom Hollander won The Peter Sellers award for comedy for his performance as bumbling vicar Mr Collins in Pride & Prejudice.

Best newcomer award was won by director Saul Dibb for his harrowing debut, the East London film Bullet Boy. Mark O'Halloran won best screenplay for his writing debut Adam and Paul, a film about Irish heroin addicts.

The awards were selected by film critics Derek Malcolm and Charlotte O'Sullivan from the Evening Standard, James Christopher from The Times, Tim Robey from the Daily Telegraph and Nigel Andrews of The Financial Times. Evening Standard editor Veronica Wadley chaired the judging panel.