The 2019 Golden Globes are in the books and the 76th edition of the annual award show certainly had its fair share of surprises and predictability. On Saturday I offered up my picks for who should, would, and could win the show’s film-based honors and while I did call quite a few right, there were other wins that broke my bracket wide open. Let’s recap the big winners from the evening and see who shocked us all by taking home the statuettes and who won out where expected.
I’m going to look at each category and assess the winners while also acknowledging whether or not I called the eventual victor in my weekend post. In addition, I’ll discuss how this may translate to success in the upcoming Oscars next month or if these awards will be the only moment in the spotlight for the honorees in the first of the two biggest film award shows on television. Also let it be noted that I don’t cover TV shows on this blog, so I will not be examining any of those awards, only film honorees.
With each category I marked the eventual winner while those that I picked before the show as the inevitable victor are identified with C.S. and my Dark Horse picks are labeled with D.H. While I also picked who SHOULD win on Saturday I’m focusing more on whether I called the eventual winner here.
How many winners did you call from last night’s Golden Globes? Were there any loser you thought should have won? Let me know in the comments below!
Best Picture — Drama
Black Panther
BlacKkKlansman – D.H.
Bohemian Rhapsody – WINNER
If Beale Street Could Talk
A Star Is Born – C.S.
Possibly the biggest upset of the night, at least in the film categories. Few experts saw this coming from my research and I was one of those didn’t really believe that despite its popularity, buzz and quality “Bohemian Rhapsody” would really win the biggest award of the night. “A Star is Born” felt like the shoe-in pick for this honor with “BlacKkKlansman” probably next in line. At least that’s how it looked until the award was finally presented. “Bohemian Rhapsody” is not the best film in this category and arguably does not belong here as it is both a comedy and a musical….so its upset victory here is truly staggering, but I can’t say it doesn’t deserve it. Do I think it will result in Oscar glory? No, I don’t. I have a feeling this will be one of many cases where a film might at least earn an Oscar nomination but its competition now has time to make a push to earn more votes from the Academy who tend to be much more focused on the overall product than the spectacle.
Best Picture — Comedy or Musical
Crazy Rich Asians
The Favourite – C.S.
Green Book – D.H./WINNER
Mary Poppins Returns
Vice
There was always a good chance I called this one wrong and I even admitted in my predictions that “Green Book” was considered the favorite despite me only calling it a Dark Horse. I guess I thought “The Favourite” was the better comedy picture and had more potential to dominate, but I was wrong. Actually I find many are more surprised that “Vice” didn’t earn the trophy here, but at the end of the day “Green Book” was a very deserving pick. Judging by the film’s success in several categories at the Globes I would say “Green Book” is now a heavy frontrunner for the Oscars. Look for this to be an early favorite going into next month’s big show in more categories than just Best Picture.
Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture — Drama
Bradley Cooper, A Star Is Born
Willem Dafoe, At Eternity’s Gate
Lucas Hedges, Boy Erased
Rami Malek, Bohemian Rhapsody – C.S./WINNER
John David Washington, BlacKkKlansman – D.H.
I read some people thought this was a bit of an underdog win, but not me. I felt it coming from a mile away. While I would have preferred Bradley Cooper won and I felt that John David Washington was waiting in the wings Rami Malek had buzz surrounding this performance as early as the Oscars LAST year and he certainly was the best thing about “Bohemian Rhapsody” as Queen lead singer Freddie Mercury. His acceptance speech was a nice tribute to Mercury as well. It’s a very deserving award BUT one I don’t think will carry over to the Oscars where he will likely have tougher competition from the likes of Christian Bale and Viggo Mortenson along with Cooper. I’m calling it, those four are Oscar nominees and Malek will be the underdog when the Academy has its say.
Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture — Drama
Glenn Close, The Wife – D.H./WINNER
Lady Gaga, A Star Is Born – C.S.
Nicole Kidman, Destroyer
Melissa McCarthy, Can You Ever Forgive Me?
Rosamund Pike, A Private War
Glenn Close won possibly the most deserving award to any actress all night. While I was sure the buzz would push Lady Gaga to the victory, I’m glad I was wrong here. I loved Gaga in “A Star is Born”, but Close turned in one of the best performances by any actress in 2018 as the lead in “The Wife”. She should have been considered more than a Dark Horse in hindsight because of the critical acclaim surrounding her performance in the film right from the get-go. This is Close’s first film Golden Globe and it will no doubt result in her SEVENTH Oscar nomination where she has yet to win. This is the one to beat, calling it now. Glenn Close will not only earn another nomination she will FINALLY win the Academy Award with this role.
Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy
Christian Bale, Vice – C.S./WINNER
Lin Manuel Miranda, Mary Poppins Returns
Viggo Mortensen, Green Book – D.H.
Robert Redford, The Old Man & the Gun
John C. Reilly, Stan & Ollie
This was one of the easiest awards for me to call. Christian Bale earned this award hands down taking a similar approach that helped Gary Oldman win in this category from Drama as Winston Churchill in “Darkest Hour” last year. Bale literally transformed into Dick Cheney for his performance in “Vice” and was the top pick by almost every expert opinion I viewed and was easily my pick as well. Like Glenn Close, I think Bale is the one to beat come Oscar time. He’s already got an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. I think he’ll not only be nominated but will definitely win the Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role this time around.
Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy
Emily Blunt, Mary Poppins Returns – D.H.
Olivia Colman, The Favourite C.S./WINNER
Elsie Fisher, Eighth Grade
Charlize Theron, Tully
Constance Wu, Crazy Rich Asians – D.H.
While I did pick two potential Dark Horses for this category, I never faltered in my support for Olivia Colman who is probably the only actress who can truly threaten Glenn Close for the Oscar. While I don’t think she will beat Close, I was very happy to see her win at the Globes especially since all my predictions for “The Favourite” pretty much shattered my otherwise decent bracket as the night went on. Colman may not be the standout performance of “The Favourite” in terms of screen time (that honor goes to who co-stars) but she was one of if not THE best performer in the film leading the way for her to take home her first Golden Globe for cinema. As I said she’ll definitely get an Oscar nomination, but beating Close is going to be a tough push.
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in Any Motion Picture
Mahershala Ali, Green Book – C.S./WINNER
Timothée Chalamet, Beautiful Boy
Adam Driver, BlacKkKlansman – D.H.
Richard E. Grant, Can You Ever Forgive Me?
Sam Rockwell, Vice
While I felt Timothée Chalamet should have won this award, in my heart I always knew it would be between Mahershala Ali and the rest of the field. I picked Adam Driver as a Dark Horse, but Ali seemed to have this from the start earning his first Golden Globe after being turned down in 2016 for “Moonlight”, a role that eventually earned him an Oscar. I think this puts him as the frontrunner to take home his second Oscar next month, but it’s hard to say. I’ll have to wait until I see the Oscar nominees to make my final call but if Ali is competing against this same group next month I’ll call this an easy win for the actor who truly deserves it.
Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in Any Motion Picture
Amy Adams, Vice – C.S.
Claire Foy, First Man
Regina King, If Beale Street Could Talk – D.H./WINNER
Emma Stone, The Favourite
Rachel Weisz, The Favourite
Chalk this one up to me having yet to see “If Beale Street Could Talk”. Regina King was second in many predictions I read which was enough for me to consider her a Dark Horse behind Amy Adams who had two nominations between film and television on the night and lost in both categories. This to me though was one of the most competitive battles of the night with five very deserving nominees to pick from and honestly ANY of these ladies could win the Oscar if they all produce nominations there as well. I can’t say for sure if I think King will have enough support to win next month and I’ll have to wait until later this month when “If Beale Street Could Talk” gets a wide release to judge her performance for myself, but it should be noted that only twice since 2010 has an actress won this award and NOT won the Oscar and not since 1976 has an actress won the Globe and not received an Academy Award nod. So King has probabilities on her side to not only earn a nomination, but earn the Oscar win.
Best Director — Motion Picture
Bradley Cooper, A Star Is Born
Alfonso Cuarón, Roma – C.S./WINNER
Peter Farrelly, Green Book
Spike Lee, BlacKkKlansman – D.H.
Adam McKay, Vice
While I really thought Bradley Cooper deserved this award, I’m not going to complain about Alfonso Cuarón taking it especially since I totally called it! Cuarón’s win was much expected and his work with “Roma” absolutely deserves the recognition. “Roma” is destined to be a heavy Best Picture contender and I do believe Cuarón will get the Oscar. Not just the nomination, but the win! He’ll probably go up against this exact same field for the Academy Award and he has history on his side. Four of the last five winners of this category, including Alfonso Cuarón himself, have won the Oscar and the last time a director won the Globe and didn’t earn at least an Oscar nomination was Ben Affleck in 2012. I’d put him as the frontrunner, but with competition like this he’s going to need all the help he can get.
Best Screenplay — Motion Picture
Alfonso Cuarón, Roma
Deborah Davis and Tony McNamara, The Favourite – C.S.
Barry Jenkins, If Beale Street Could Talk
Adam McKay, Vice – D.H.
Peter Farrelly, Nick Vallelonga, Brian Currie, Green Book D.H./WINNER
This is where my bracket started to fall apart. I put a lot of stock in “The Favourite” to shine over many nominees and while I did pick it as one of two Dark Horses here, I honestly didn’t think “Green Book” would win over “The Favourite” OR “Vice”. I mean, I’m glad it won but I just didn’t see it coming. Still, it’s a great story and a very deserving film that, thanks to this award, earned the most wins from the show in film categories with three. This to me solidifies “Green Book” as an Oscar favorite and the film will likely be going up against everyone in this category but “If Beale Street Could Talk” (which would be an Adapted Screenplay) at the Oscars. I think this category could be wide open going into the Academy Awards honestly because I wouldn’t count out any of these screenplays to steal the Academy’s hearts.
Best Motion Picture — Animated
Incredibles 2 – D.H.
Isle of Dogs
Mirai
Ralph Breaks the Internet
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse – C.S./WINNER
While I called this the most competitive this category has been in years, I also said and was correct in believing that “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” would win this honor hands down. Sony Animation made one of the biggest leaps ever in terms of legitimacy for an animation studio by putting a new spin on the long-running “Spider-Man” series and while they had to top Disney and Pixar to do it I felt they easily deserved the recognition the most. Considering it will likely be facing the same competition at the Oscars the only issue it might face is the Academy’s obsession with Pixar and Disney properties. Even when films from other studios earned the Golden Globe the Disney properties they beat have earned the Oscar. Only two times since this category started, in 2006 and 2011, have Disney or Pixar failed to earn an Oscar when nominated and, fun fact, only once has Disney or Pixar won a Globe and not an Oscar (“Cars” in 2006). Also, in the five years that at least TWO Disney owned films earned Golden Globe nominations the studio has NEVER lost the Oscar. So, if “Into the Spider-Verse” is going to win it has a surprisingly tough road ahead and has to defy industry trends to make it happen.
Best Picture — Foreign Language
Capernaum
Girl
Never Look Away
Roma – C.S./WINNER
Shoplifters
This was the easiest category to predict all night. “Roma” has been a sensation, at least critically, earning Alfonso Cuarón the Best Director Globe and critical acclaim. I haven’t seen a win this obvious in a “extra” category since “March of the Penguins” won the Best Documentary Oscar honestly. But even while this was an obvious victory it does have huge implications for what’s to come. “Roma” is almost certainly going to be a Best Picture nominee at the Oscars, but because of the limitations of the Globes it could not be represented in the Best Motion Picture categories here, so we don’t know offhand how it will stack up against the competition next month. Considering the Best Director award win, it looks like “Roma” could EASILY be a major contender. If it wins it would be the first ever foreign language film AND the first ever Netflix original to win Best Picture. “The Artist”, a French film, did win Best Picture but it was a silent film. “Roma” is fighting for a lot of history over the next few weeks. As for the foreign film category, look for “Roma” to earn the Oscar as well.
Best Original Score — Motion Picture
Marco Beltrami, A Quiet Place
Alexandre Desplat, Isle of Dogs
Ludwig Göransson, Black Panther – D.H.
Justin Hurwitz, First Man – WINNER
Marc Shaiman, Mary Poppins Returns – C.S.
Wow did I blow this call, although to my credit I DID say it was the hardest category for me to decide on. I’m glad “First Man” won SOMETHING at the Globes even though it was criminally ignored almost everywhere else it deserved to be. I am a little shocked that “Black Panther” was snubbed here though because I really believed this was where Marvel’s smash hit could shine. I’m even more surprised that “Mary Poppins Returns” didn’t win because I felt the score of that film could earn some great nostalgia points. In the end though I’m not a music expert. Hell, I’m barely a film “expert”, but the original score is not my forte. So, I’ll take this loss in stride and fully admit I have NO idea what to expect from this category at the Oscars.
Best Original Song — Motion Picture
“All the Stars,” Black Panther – D.H.
“Girl in the Movies,” Dumplin’
“Requiem for a Private War,” A Private War
“Revelation,” Boy Erased
“Shallow,” A Star Is Born – C.S./WINNER
While I did think “All the Stars” was waiting in the wings there was no contest here and honestly I was jumping up and down when “Shallow” took the honor. “A Star is Born” was SNUBBED in all categories except this one at the Globes and if there was any award it HAD to take it was obviously the Original Song. There’s still hope that the Oscars will give “A Star is Born” its due credit in other categories, but I can almost guarantee the Academy will agree with the Globes on this one. “Shallow” is a powerful balled that helps define “A Star is Born” and has served as the lead single for the drama helping drive home its story and emotional themes. There is no other song more deserving than this.
