The Various Columns

Monday, January 8, 2018

Here's the Winners of this Year's Golden Globes

Scene from Lady Bird
Yesterday marked one of the first big stops in this year's awards season. The Golden Globes were a moment where actresses spoke out in solidarity as part of the new Time's Up movement, and the winners seemed to be just as politically charged. With many harrowing speeches, the night was full of a rare energy, and it wasn't without some controversy in Best Picture (Drama) winner and top winner of the night, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. The following is a look at the movie winners of the night, including some thoughts on how they may shake up the Oscar race, or what they have to say about things going forward. It was an interesting night, and it was in part thanks to these surprises.

Best Picture (Drama)

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Best Picture (Comedy or Musical)

Lady Bird

Best Actress (Drama)

Frances McDormand (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri)

Best Actor (Drama)

Gary Oldman (The Darkest Hour)

Best Actress (Comedy or Musical)

Saorise Ronan (Lady Bird)

Best Actor (Comedy or Musical)

James Franco (The Disaster Artist)

Best Supporting Actress

Allison Janney (I, Tonya)

Best Supporting Actor

Sam Rockwell (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri)

Best Director

Guillermo del Toro (The Shape of Water)

Best Screenplay

Three Billaboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Best Animated Film

Coco

Best Foreign Film

In the Fade

Best Original Score

Alexandre Desplat (The Shape of Water)

Best Original Song

"This is Me" (The Greatest Showman)




Biggest Surprises:

For the most part, the race has been a largely open and unpredictable one with each awards group seeming to award different movies. What is probably most surprising is the upset by Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. It's a divisive title, and one that has garnered some backlash for its problematic portrayal of issues. With four wins, it dominated the night and also threw a ratchet into the other fields as well. Willem Dafoe (The Florida Project) has been geared to win Best Supporting Actor for quite some time, so to have Sam Rockwell win is quite a turn of events. However, the one longtime predicted winner Gary Oldman (The Darkest Hour) won Best Actor (Drama) against movies that have been more critically acclaimed in recent months, including Call Me By Your Name

What's also surprising is that the winners were pretty diverse. In spite of Three Billboards' winning streak, The Shape of Water managed to win Best Director and Best Original Score over Martin McDonagh's movie. If anything, it opens up the possibilities of what lies ahead for The Oscars, who differ a little bit from the Golden Globes (for example, last year's Best Supporting Actor winner, Aaron Johnson (Nocturnal Animals) failed to receive an Oscar nomination). Even then, one has to wonder if the message preached at the ceremony will reflect in the Oscars' overall winners. It was one of solidarity against power struggles and harassment. Will the winners take on this message, as last year's Best Picture winner (Moonlight) reflected a struggle to overcome the Oscars So White controversy? Time will only tell.

Still, the Golden Globes' one defining feature is their ability to predict the dramas that are likely to be nominated while not doing so well with the comedies. This year marks an odd tangent to the pattern, with Lady Bird's sleeper hit status making it an almost assured Best Picture nominee, and the increasing popularity of Get Out and The Disaster Artist make them more of a threat than initially perceived. Overall, it was a decent year, but more than anything it reflected Hollywood's struggle to move beyond shameful past behaviors in favor of something more inclusive. The question now is whether or not this is more than a one night stand for Hollywood, and if it will mean that Three Billboards is more of a surefire hit than prognosticators are wanting to believe. 

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