The 78th Annual Golden Globes were held last Sunday night, and as always there were quite a few major surprises that are going to make this year’s Oscars even more difficult to predict. As always, it should be said that the HFPA are by far the least credible voting body, as they constantly take bribes and make decisions that make it seem like they are purposely trying to piss off people (i.e. nominating Music), which completely goes against the spirit of awards season. It was announced recently that the HFPA do boot have a single Black member and are almost entirely white, which in my opinion delegitimizes them even more.
As someone who deeply cares about awards season and strongly believes that these awards ceremonies are an important celebration of cinema that rewards artists for pushing boundaries and telling important stories, it is extremely disheartening to see an awards body as prolific as the Golden Globes be run by such a corrupt organization. It’s gotten to the point where the HFPA have become such a joke that the presenters, receiptints and even the hosts frequently called them out throughout the night. That being said, for as much contempt as I have for the HFPA, being invested in awards season as the Globes are an important stop on the road to the Oscars, whether I like it or not, I do have stakes in the Golden Globes. So without further ado, let’s take a look at the winners in the film categories and discuss how they will affect the trajectory of the rest of awards season
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM: Unlike the Oscars, the Golden Globes do not have a country submission rule. Any film in which the majority of dialogue is in another language is eligible in this category. Minari is an American film, but because 80% of the dialogue is in a Korean dialect, the film qualified for this category. Despite the backlash that the HFPA received for nominating Minari in the Foreign-Language category, they still decided to award it, which is obviously very well deserved. Minari is one of the most acclaimed films of the year, and one of the very few that has a legitimate shot at winning Best Picture at the Oscars. However, It will not be eligible for International Film at the Oscars, so this gives us no indication as to what may win that category.
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE: Some people were predicting that Wolfwalkers may pull an upset, but Soul is so widely beloved by both critics and audiences that its win was undeniable. The Globes occasionally make unpredictable decisions in this category (ie. Missing Link), but I’m glad they went with the obvious choice this year, because it also happens to be the correct one. Soul will most likely sweep the Animated categories throughout awards season and I will be cheering it on all the way.
BEST ORIGINAL SONG: This race was clearly between Speak Now and Fight For You, so when Io Si was announced as the winner, it came as a surprise to almost everyone. However, in retrospect it actually makes a lot of sense. Diane Warren is a well respected industry veteran who has been working on film soundtracks for decades. The is her second win at the Golden Globes, but her record at the Oscars holds 11 wins, so the HFPA probably wanted to put the ball in her court. It also helps that the other songs in this category are very similar in both sound and lyrical content, while Io Si is slightly more distinct. The only thing holding back the song from going on to win the Oscar is the fact that the movie it is from has very limited buzz surrounding it.
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE: With the possibility of major Oscar nominations seeming slim at this point, many people were not convinced that Soul would pull off a win at the Golden Globes, especially considering the HFPA have somewhat of a bias against animated films in this category. However, it was fairly obvious that Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross and Jon Batiste would inevitably take home the award. The music in Soul is a driving force in that film and is far more prolific and unique than anything of its competition. I would be very surprised if Soul didn’t go on to win the Oscar.
BEST SCREENPLAY: Unlike the Oscars, the Golden Globes only have one category that honours the best screenplay of the year, as opposed to separating them into Original and Adapted. This makes this category fairly difficult to predict, but it also gives us an indication as to what could potentially go on to win an Oscar. This was a fierce battle between awards darling Aaron Sorkin’s by-the-numbers The Trial of the Chicago 7 and newcomer Emerald Fennell’s daring Promising Young Woman. Both heavily rely on slick dialogue, but the latter is considerably more bold and impressive from a writing standpoint. Unfortunately, the HFPA went with the safe choice and awarded Sorkin for the third time. However, it is still a toss up in terms of the Oscars, as they don’t always align with the Globes, especially when it comes to this category.
BEST DIRECTOR: The HFPA and the Academy have both been scrutinized for rarely awarding woman filmmakers, so this is a landmark year as not only were three woman nominated, but the award deservingly went to Chloé Zhao, for her outstanding work on Nomadland. Zhao has won almost every precursor, so I would be absolutely shocked if she didn’t go on to win the Oscar.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: The Best Supporting Actress race was already extremely tough to predict, as it seemed like there were three candidates battling it out. Many were looking for the HFPA to establish a frontrunner, but instead they went with the most unlikely choice: Jodie Foster in The Mauritanian. Foster is an industry veteran who is obviously very well respected by the HFPA, so in some respects it makes sense that they decided to award her. However, The Mauritanian is a film that has generated very little buzz throughout awards season, to the point where it seemed unlikely that it would receive any nomination at the Oscars. Foster was not nominated at the SAGs or the Critics Choice, so whether this is a fluke or we should take this win seriously is still unclear.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Daniel Kaluuya’s performance in Judas & the Black Messiah is so undeniably impressive that it would have come as a shock if he didn’t win here. Some people were unsure whether the HFPA would want to honour Sasha Baron Cohen’s dramatic turn in The Trial of the Chicago 7 or Leslie Odom Jr’s portrayal of Sam Cooke in One Night in Miami since they both also received nominations in other categories, but they fortunately went with Kaluuya who acts circles around everyone else in the category.
BEST ACTRESS – COMEDY OR MUSICAL: In a surprise upset, Rosamund Pike won the Golden Globe over Maria Bakalova, which in retrospect does make sense. While Bakalova has won many critics awards for her bold and hilarious performance in Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, even garnering a substantial amount of Oscar buzz, it is more of a supporting performance and I’m sure many HFPA members took that into consideration while voting. Not only that, but Maria Bakalova is a newcomer who gained international recognition solely for this role, as opposed to Rosamund Pike who has been around for quite some time and is very well respected by the HFPA. I Care A Lot has also gained a significant amount of steam after its impressive debut on Netflix, so Rosamund’s win here may indicate that she’s got a chance at slipping into the Oscar lineup.
BEST ACTOR – COMEDY OR MUSICAL: Sasha Baron Cohen had tough competition in the Best Supporting Actor category, so its not surprising that the HFPA decided to honour him here for his performance in Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, considering it is definitely a less a competitive field. Borat is an iconic cinematic character and Cohen’s portrayal this time around is still the defining role of his career, so this was well deserved.
BEST ACTRESS – DRAMA: Similar to the Best Supporting Actress category, this race has been very difficult to predict. The frontrunner has shifted multiple times throughout awards season between Viola Davis, Frances McDormand and Carey Mulligan. Many people were expecting the HFPA to award Carey Mulligan and establish her as the clear Oscars frontrunner for her bold performance in Promising Young Woman, but instead they went with the most unlikely choice in Andra Day for The United States vs. Billie Holiday, a film that received relatively poor reviews. Day did receive a nomination at the Critics Choice Awards, but she missed out completely at the SAGs, so whether this is an indicator that she is the Oscar frontrunner is very unclear, but at his point it seems like a fluke.
BEST ACTOR – DRAMA: Chadwick Boseman’s performance in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom is so incredible and his passing deeply affected so many people, that it was undeniable that he would win the award. If there’s any category that is a done deal at this point, it’s this one.
BEST PICTURE – COMEDY OR MUSICAL: While some people were predicting the HFPA would use this opportunity to award Hamilton and the cast that made it such a pop culture sensation, there was so much controversy surrounding whether it should be eligible or not, that they instead went with another pop culture sensation in Borat Subsequent Moviefilm. Not only was the film a big hit for Amazon, but it was also very relevant to the events of the past year and commented on them in a slick satirical fashion.
BEST PICTURE – DRAMA: Best Picture (Drama) was a difficult category to predict, as all the potential Best Picture nominees this year were completing in this category, as opposed to most years where there are some in the Best Picture (Comedy/Musical) category. The Trial of the Chicago 7 seemed like the safe choice, although there was a surge for Promising Young Woman leading some to believe it could pull off an upset. Many were predicting Nomadland would win at the Oscars, but were thinking that it was too indie and understated for the Golden Globes. However, the film fortunately won and solidified it as the frontrunner for Best Picture at the Oscars.
Follow my blog on Instagram @moviereviews100!
Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter or Instagram or like us on Facebook.
