Golden Globes Nominations
Note: This is not a review on the Golden Globes. It is an article solely based on the nominees.
Nominations for the 76th Golden Globe awards were announced on Thursday, December 6th by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. The annual awards ceremony celebrates achievement in both television and film; the Golden Globes often set a precedent for Oscar nominations.
In regards to film, the best actress and actor nominees ranged from adolescent newcomers like Elsie Fisher (“Eighth Grade”) to seasoned stars like Willem Dafoe (“At Eternity’s Gate”). Big budget hits are nominated alongside against lesser known, but still critically acclaimed, independent films. Blockbusters include “Black Panther”, “Bohemian Rhapsody”, “Crazy Rich Asians”, “A Star Is Born”, and “Mary Poppins Returns”. Indies include “Eighth Grade”, “If Beale Street Could Talk”, “Blakkklansman”, and “Boy Erased”.
“Eighth Grade” tells the story of a girl in the final week of eighth grade struggling to make social connections. Director Bo Burnham cleverly conveys the trials and tribulations of adolescence. 15 year old Elsie Fisher is well deserving of her nomination for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy; her depiction of an insecure 13 year old awkwardly navigating the rough waters of middle school is painstakingly authentic. Another nominee in Fisher’s category is Constance Wu, who gained recognition playing protagonist Rachel Chu in the summer box office hit “Crazy Rich Asians”; she played a woman overwhelmed by the wealth and status of her boyfriend’s family. While her performance was strong in the romantic comedy, it doesn’t particularly stand out among her fellow nominees.
In the Drama category, Lady Gaga is a notable nominee for Best Actress. In her movie, “A Star Is Born”, she plays Ally, a pop singer rising to fame under the wing of jaded country star Jackson Maine, played by Bradley Cooper. While Gaga was essentially playing herself, the role did require her to be a dynamic actress. She was impressively evocative, especially when singing the myriad of power ballads that tug at audiences’ heart strings.
A snub that has the film world buzzing is the missing nomination for Toni Collette, who starred in the chilling A24 horror film “Hereditary”. “Hereditary” tells the story of a seemingly normal nuclear family who starts witnessing disturbing occurrences after the death of the mother of Collette’s character. Collette plays the role of a mother unraveling at the seams to an eerily perfect degree. From coping with familial loss to coping with the supernatural, her performance is somehow engrossing as well as disturbingly authentic.
For Best Motion Picture, drama might be the most anticipated category in the Golden Globes. Nominations include “Black Panther”, “Blackkklansman”, “Bohemian Rhapsody”, “If Beale Street Could Talk”, and “A Star Is Born”. In a category that ranges from a mold breaking Marvel movie (“Black Panther”) to a biopic of a musical icon (“Bohemian Rhapsody”) to the true story of the infiltration of the KKK (“Blackkklansman”), it’s hard to say if there’s a clear winner among them. Strong contenders are “Blackkklansman” and “If Beale Street Could Talk”, both of which are dramas about race relations that received high praise from critics. Most of the nominations feature a very diverse cast, which could be a response to recent complaints that the Oscars and other award shows are overwhelmingly white and not inclusive enough. This year’s Golden Globe nominations reflect the industry’s recent embracement of diversity following the controversy of 2016’s #OscarsSoWhite.
Whether you love or hate the movies and performances nominated in the upcoming Golden Globes, it will certainly be an awards show to remember. The Golden Globes are set to air on January 6th, 2019 at 8 p.m, EST.
