The 76th Annual Golden Globes just wrapped up, giving us our first taste of film awards that will last for the coming weeks leading up to the Oscars. I made my predictions last week, but there were plenty of surprises. What do the winners and losers say about the major races?
Best Animated Feature: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
I don’t have much to say here except, thank God and screw Disney. This was not only the best animated pictures of the year, it’s one of the best pictures of the year period. I hope it continues to rack up awards and shut out the Mouse at the Oscars.
Best Supporting Actor: Mahershala Ali, Green Book
Not a huge surprise, since not only was he the frontrunner, but Green Book over-performed overall. It’s clear that he is the best part of a film that might just be the frontrunner for the Oscar for Best Picture, so I suspect this is only the first of many awards this season for him. It’s especially well-deserved since he was passed over for his role in Moonlight at the 2016 Globes, so good for him.
Best Supporting Actress: Regina King, If Beale Street Could Talk
It remains to be seen how much staying power Beale Street will have long-term during awards season, but it says a lot that a relative no-name in a tiny indie movie was honored at the Globes in such a star-studded category. The Favourite was unfortunately shut out completely, and perhaps my assessment was correct that Weisz and Stone stole votes from each other. As weird as it may sound, the film might be rooting for only one of them to get the Oscar nomination to improve its chances of a win there! Or maybe the HFPA just didn’t respond as well to the film as we thought (which also explains the Lanthimos snub for Director).
Best Screenplay: Green Book
I thought this film was in distant third when it came to winning this category, but I guess I was wrong. I expected Green Book to do well overall but thought its screenplay was the most by-the-book and generic aspect of the film. I had a brief moment of panic after this category that it would sweep its remaining nominations, but fortunately that didn’t happen. This is yet another setback for The Favourite after missing on Director and getting upset for screenplay, but I’m holding out hope that it can rally in time for the Oscars because it is easily the best screenplay of the year.
Best Actor, Musical/Comedy: Christian Bale, Vice
As I suspected, despite Vice taking the most nominations, this was its only win. I don’t think the film has huge staying power and it will only decline in its presence going forward, but Bale should have himself a nice season for his depiction of Cheney. His hilarious acceptance speech (has any actor ever thanked Satan in a speech before?) should also improve his Oscar chances somewhat.
Best Actress, Musical/Comedy: Olivia Colman, The Favourite
The Favourite underperformed overall, but at least it got the important award that it was expected to take. Colman is in for a heated race this season in such a competitive Best Actress category, and this is a much-needed boost for her chances at the Oscar. Notably, Colman always seems out of sorts on stage, and I’ll be curious to see if that affects her chances at all. The Academy does sometimes vote for people in order to get them on stage due to past brilliant speeches, and she didn’t exactly bring the house down. Regardless, this is big for her.
Best Director: Alfonso Cuaron, Roma
Thank god Roma won both of its major categories after a stupid rule prevented it from competing in Best Picture – Drama. This is such a well-deserved honor and I’m glad it didn’t go to star power…not to take anything away from Bradley Cooper’s debut, but Roma is a fucking masterpiece. If Cuaron doesn’t sweep this category all season long it will be a travesty.
Best Actor, Drama: Rami Malek, Bohemian Rhapsody
I went out on a limb to predict this upset, and I was right! I’m pumped for Rami as I’ve been a longtime fan of his and he was electric as one of the most iconic characters in music history. I feel like I’m in the minority among film critics when it comes to Bohemian Rhapsody, which I think is deserving of all its awards attention, and it’s all thanks to one man’s beautiful performance. This is a obviously a huge step forward for his Oscar chances and might even make him the frontrunner. Bradley Cooper was the biggest loser of the night, getting edged out in all three categories he had a chance at winning, and he’ll have to bank on his good favor with the Academy to take something home this year.
Best Actress, Drama: Glenn Close, The Wife
Wow, I did NOT expect Lady Gaga to lose this category! This is a huge blow to her Best Actress Oscar chances, but at least she can rest easy that she’s getting one for Best Original Song (which is perhaps why voters passed on her). But wow, Glenn Close managed to tread water for long enough and maintain enough momentum to take the win here. This should solidify her as the frontrunner for the Oscar, and you can bet the “never won one” narrative will intensify over the coming weeks. Not to mention her speech about female empowerment brought the house down! I’m ready to pencil her in right now as this year’s Frances McDormand.
Best Picture, Musical/Comedy: Green Book
Surprise! Not really, because I expected this to take it. Even Peter Farrelly seemed to expect it, since he deferred to his other writers during the Best Screenplay award so he could talk here. I have to imagine this is the frontrunner for the Oscar now, if it wasn’t already, as it continues to pile up awards and steamroll the competition. Farrelly also commanded the stage and gave an impassioned speech that is sure to get people’s attention and resonate with Academy voters. With that being said, social media is starting to turn on the film for its sanitized handling of tough racial themes, so perhaps winning big so early will reignite the debate and hurt the film long-term.
Best Picture, Drama: Bohemian Rhapsody
WHAT?! This was perhaps the film that I least expected to win this category, but man oh man, the HFPA must have loved it as much as audiences. To be fair, I predicted Black Panther could win for being such a hit with audiences, and this is likely a similar phenomenon. I don’t think this makes the film a frontrunner for the Oscar by any means, but it should solidify its nomination at the very least. Meanwhile, A Star is Born had a super rough night and has just lost its status as the Oscar frontrunner. I believe now it comes down to Green Book and Roma for the biggest award of them all.
Conclusion
I’m pleased with how spread-out the awards were distributed this year. Every film got a little piece of the pie, and nothing completely dominated. Films like A Star is Born and The Favourite lost some of their luster, underdogs like Bohemian Rhapsody and The Wife got a shot in the arm, and Green Book increased its lead. This will be one of the most fun awards seasons in recent memory, and I hope there will be plenty of surprises to come!
Also, starting this week, I will be analyzing every major Oscar category to determine what the final nomination list will look like. Tune in for in-depth analysis on every film and performance in contention and who I think will succeed!
-Austin Daniel
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