(Left to right) Rachel McAdams, Mark Ruffalo, and Brian d’Arcy James as Boston Globe reporters uncovering scandal in the Catholic Church in “Spotlight.” Photo credit: Kerry Hayes / Distributor: Open Road Films
Sunday night 80 or so part-time journalists will announce their august findings with all the pomp, and inanity that is Hollywood. Yep, it’s Golden Globes time and the usually raucous celebration hosted by the ever witty Ricky Gervais will be broadcast at 8 p.m. on NBC. Behind the stars, their agents, the handlers, the personal assistants and the fawning entertainment reporters will be the marketing mavens, ready to pounce on winning films. They will thrust them into the limelight Monday morning, touting how many Globes they won. Media outlets will shamelessly shill them. The Globes are less about awards and more about selling.
For us commoners we simply want to know who will win. Yet predicting the Globes is difficult. They‘re the year’s first major award show so they lack precedent. And sadly, with only 80 voters making up the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, they can, and have been, easily swayed by Tinseltown inducements. Prognostications are guesses, but here goes:
The most challenging category is Best Actress (Drama). Go figure, the women’s roles are particularly strong. Brie Larson in “Room,” Saorise Ronan in “Brooklyn” Alicia Viklander in “The Danish Girl,” Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara for “Carol.” Figuring that two women from the same film cancel each other, and that Viklander was better in “Ex Machina,” we are left with Ms. Larson and Ms. Ronan. Brie Larson will win, while Saorise Ronan’s nuanced performance should have won.
Leonardo DiCaprio is our pick to win the Golden Globe for ‘The Revenant.’ Photo Credit: Kimberley French / Copyright Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation
Over in the Best Actor (Drama) category, it’s all Leonardo DiCaprio for “The Revenant.” He will win and he should win. The other actors are quite good especially Eddie Redmayne for “The Danish Girl,” but DiCaprio is going to get some solid Golden love.
Here are some more categories with a simple “Will Win, Should Win” breakdown:
Best Actress (Comedy/Musical): Will Win: Jennifer Lawrence (‘Joy’) because she’s always great copy. Should Win: Lily Tomlin (‘Grandma’).
Best Actor (Comedy/Musical) Will Win: Matt Damon because his singing, dancing and snappy one liners made his enforced solitude on Mars a light hearted romp. Nah, they just like him. Should win: Mark Ruffalo (‘Infinitely Polar Bear’).
Best Director. Will Win: Alejandro Gonzales Iñarritu (‘The Revenenant’). Should Win: Iñarritu
Best Motion Picture (Comedy/Musical): Once again the tap dancing and slapstick in “The Martian” will rule the day, as it should when compared to the other comedies and musicals in this category. Oh, there is no singing, no humor in these films. No comedy. No musical. This category is a dumping ground to boost ratings.
Best Motion Picture (Drama): The Boston Globe investigative film, “Spotlight” will win this category, but “The Revenant” is better.
Before closing out, a few words on “The Revenant.” Responses to it are strongly mixed. Some folks cite the sumptuous cinematography. Some folks find watching it difficult to endure. It is not a comfortable, predictable piece of so-called Hollywood drama. Some folks have compared it to the Altman’s classic “McCabe & Mrs. Miller” or even Robert Redford’s “Jeremiah Johnson.” Some find the brutal themes of vengeance and one man’s capacity to overcome, too daunting. But there is one thing we can all agree on. It takes a great Mexican director to make a great American Western in 2016.
See you next week.
— By Garen Daly
Garen Daly, is the director of the up coming 41st Boston Science Fiction Film Festival & Marathon. Feb. 5-15 at the Somerville Theatre.
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