Last night, the Golden Globes honored a hectic year of movies and television. Here are the winners in the film categories:
Best Picture – Drama: Nomadland
Best Picture – Musical or Comedy: Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
Best Director: Chloe Zhao – Nomadland
Best Actor – Drama: Chadwick Boseman – Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Best Actress – Drama: Andra Day – The United States vs. Billie Holiday
Best Actor – Musical or Comedy: Sacha Baron Cohen – Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
Best Actress – Musical or Comedy: Rosamund Pike – I Care a Lot
Best Supporting Actor: Daniel Kaluuya – Judas and the Black Messiah
Best Supporting Actress: Jodie Foster – The Mauritanian
Best Screenplay: The Trial of the Chicago 7
Best Original Score: Soul
Best Original Song: “Io Si (Seen)” from The Life Ahead
Best Animated Feature: Soul
Best Foreign Language Film: Minari (USA)
I was mostly satisfied by the winners, even though the presentation was far from perfect with the hybrid in-person/virtual format. Tina Fey and Amy Poehler did their best but clearly they thrive best with a full audience and even though they tried to stick it to the HFPA’s controversies, Ricky Gervais did a much better job last year. The nominees were also far from perfect — Spike Lee’s Da 5 Bloods was completely shut out. Minari won Best Foreign Language Film because it is mostly in Korean, but sparked controversy because it was produced in America, so why not let it qualify for Best Drama? In my opinion, cinema is cinema and the boundary of subtitles is simply an addition to watching a film when it’s in a different language, not an obstacle. Sia’s directioral debut Music was nominated despite apparently having an offensive representation of autism, and Hamilton, while culturally resonant, was a filmed musical, not really a movie. So in that weak comedy category, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm was the only decent one in my opinion (but still not excellent), while Emma, On the Rocks, and The King of Staten Island would’ve made for great nominees over Hamilton, Music, and The Prom. There was also the controversy coming up of the lack of black members in the HFPA. While this was addressed and needs to continue to be addressed, a large number of black artists did also win awards during the ceremony, including the incredible Daniel Kaluuya who took my breath away as Fred Hampton. Another deserving win was the late Chadwick Boseman, who delivered one of the best performances of the year and his wife paid touching tribute to the legend as he won posthumously. Chloe Zhao became the first woman of color to win Best Director for her unique work in Nomadland, and there was a record number of female director nominees, including Emerald Fennell for Promising Young Woman and Regina King for One Night in Miami — all three were deserving of a nomination to me. However, the one win I disagree with was Andra Day — she was amazing in her debut role, but having seen all 5 of the films in her category, I think all 4 of the other performances were superior. Carey Mulligan and Vanessa Kirby were groundbreaking in their respective films, and I wish one of them had won. Jane Fonda also won a Lifetime Achievement Award for her work in films, TV, and activism throughout the decades.

Excellent review. I took note of all the films you mentioned and recommended and hope to see them