JMW Turner biopic Mr Turner has been nominated for seven London Critics’ Circle Film gongs – with its star Timothy Spall pitted against Benedict Cumberbatch and Eddie Redmayne for best actor.

Timothy Spall
Timothy Spall (Yui Mok/PA Wire)

The movie leads the way with the most nominations, including Film Of The Year, British Film and Director for filmmaker Mike Leigh.

Timothy Spall as artist Turner
(eOne Films)

Spall is up for Actor Of The Year for his performance as the famous painter.

Benedict Cumberbatch
Benedict Cumberbatch has an acting nod (Jonathan Brady/PA Wire)

His rivals in the same category include Cumberbatch for his role as codebreaker Alan Turing in The Imitation Game, Redmayne for his performance as Stephen Hawking in The Theory Of Everything, as well as US actors Jake Gyllenhaal for crime thriller Nightcrawler and Michael Keaton for his part as a washed-up Hollywood actor in Birdman.

Julianne Moore
Julianne Moore is up for two awards (Tony Ducret/Patrickmcmullan.com/AP)

In the Actress Of The Year category, Julianne Moore has two separate nominations for her performance as a Harvard professor suffering from early onset Alzheimer’s in Still Alice, and her role in David Cronenberg’s black comedy Maps To The Stars.

She is up against French actress Marion Cotillard (Two Days, One Night), Australian Essie Davis (The Babadook), and Scarlett Johansson (Under The Skin).

Michael Keaton and Edward Norton in Birdman
(Fox Searchlight UK)

Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu’s film industry satire Birdman follows Mr Turner with six nominations, voted for by print, online and broadcast film critics.

Boyhood, The Grand Budapest Hotel, The Imitation Game, The Theory Of Everything and Under The Skin have five.

The winners will be announced on January 18 at The May Fair Hotel in London.