Wartime drama Atonement led an acclaimed field of competitors announced on Wednesday for the U.K's top film honour, the British Academy's annual film awards.

Keira Knightley and James McAvoy star in the period drama Atonement.
(Alex Bailey/Focus Features)

Atonement, based on Ian McEwan's bestseller about two young lovers torn apart during the Second World War, scored 14 nominations, including for best film, best British film, best director and for its stars Keira Knightley and James McAvoy.

Also picking up multiple BAFTA nominations Wednesday were two other literary film adaptations: dark crime tale No Country for Old Men, based on the Cormac McCarthy novel of the same name, and oil epic There Will Be Blood, inspired by the Upton Sinclair book Oil!

Netting nine nominations each, the two films have been winning critical accolades across North America over the past few months and are also among the tough competitors in the BAFTA best film category.

Underworld drama American Gangster and German surveillance tale The Lives of Others, which was last year's best foreign film winner at the Oscars, round out the best picture contenders.

Canadian actress Ellen Page is nominated in two categories: lead actress for her turn in Juno as well as the publicly-voted rising star award.
(Rene Volfik/CTK/Associated Press)

Knightley will vie for the lead actress title against an esteemed list of nominees, including Canadian actress Ellen Page for Juno, screen icon Julie Christie for Away From Her, French star Marion Cotillard for La Vie En Rose and Cate Blanchett for Elizabeth: The Golden Age.

Nova Scotia's Page, acclaimed for her turn as the titular pregnant teen in Juno, is also up for the previously announced, publicly-voted BAFTA rising star award.

McAvoy's competition for the lead actor trophy includes There Will Be Blood star Daniel Day-Lewis, George Clooney for the legal drama Michael Clayton, the late Ulrich Muhe for The Lives of Others and Viggo Mortensen for Eastern Promises.

Atonement is also up for the title of best British film, facing off against Eastern Promises, directed by Canadian auteur David Cronenberg; The Bourne Ultimatum; Control and This is England.

Other BAFTA nominees include:

Javier Bardem, left, and Kelly MacDonald each picked up supporting actor nominations for their turns in No Country for Old Men.
(Aaron Harris/Canadian Press)

• Supporting actor: Javier Bardem, No Country for Old Men; Paul Dano, There Will Be Blood; Tommy Lee Jones, No Country for Old Men; Philip Seymour Hoffman, Charlie Wilson’s War; Tom Wilkinson, Michael Clayton.
• Supporting actress: Cate Blanchett, I'm Not There; Kelly MacDonald, No Country for Old Men; Samantha Morton, Control; Saoirse Ronan, Atonement; Tilda Swinton, Michael Clayton.
• Original screenplay: Steven Zaillian, American Gangster; Diablo Cody, Juno; Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, The Lives of Others; Tony Gilroy, Michael Clayton; Shane Meadows, This is England.
• Adapted screenplay: Christopher Hampton, Atonement; Ronald Harwood, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly; David Benioff, The Kite Runner; Joel and Ethan Coen, No Country for Old Men; Paul Thomas Anderson, There Will Be Blood.
• Foreign language: The Diving Bell and the Butterfly; The Kite Runner; The Lives of Others; Lust, Caution; La Vie En Rose.
• Animated: Ratatouille; Shrek the Third; The Simpsons Movie.

The annual film awards season has been a subdued affair with the ongoing U.S. screenwriters' strike putting a damper on the customary glamorous award galas.

Because of this, some industry watchers are anticipating a glitzier and higher profile BAFTAs ceremony at London's Royal Opera House on Feb. 10, when organizers will present trophies in 23 categories.

Established in 1947, the movie honours for the British Academy of Film and Television Arts celebrates the year's best international films screened in U.K. cinemas.

With files from the Associated Press