The HFPA gives birth to awards season dreams and the HFPA crushes them. Well, that’s what they like to think. The Golden Globe Awards are nothing more really than a marketing exercise to get people to buy tickets for end of year prestige flicks and to get Academy members to put one or two films higher on that screener pile. Keeping that in mind we’ve studied the nominees for the 74th Golden Globes announced earlier this morning and compiled a pretty fair best and worst list for your consideration.
(Already looking forward to the “Hacksaw Ridge” comments).
Best: Clear skies for ‘”Moonlight’
If there was one movie the HFPA might have snubbed in the worst possible way it was Barry Jenkins’ masterpiece. Instead, the critically acclaimed drama earned almost every nomination it could including Best Picture – Drama, Best Supporting Actor (Mahershala Ali), Best Supporting Actress (Naomie Harris), Best Director (Barry Jenkins), Best Screenplay (Barry Jenkins) and Best Original Score (Nicholas Britell). “Moonlight’s” six nods were only one behind Oscar frontrunner “La La Land” (seven) and one more than “Manchester by the Sea” (five). With these key nods A24 has even more marketing ammunition to get the film out to an even wider audience. And Oscar nods? Don’t even worry about it.
Worst: The love for “Hacksaw Ridge”
I’ve gone on record over my disdain for this on the nose WWII flick, but let’s just consider a neutral source for a moment. “Hacksaw Ridge” has a 71 on that critics grading aggregate site. Films such as “Silence” (84), “Arrival” (82), “Jackie” (80), “Loving” (79) and even “Sully” (74) had a stronger critical response. We won’t quibble with Garfield’s nomination, especially if his performance in “Silence” helped him crack the five, but Mel Gibson for director? His work pales to the artful elegance of “Arrival’s” Denis Villeneuve, “Hell or High Water’s” David Mackenzie, “Jackie’s” Pablo Larrain or “Silence’s” Scorsese. Discouraging to say the least.
Best: “Hell or High Water” sails past the competition with key nods
Director David Mackenzie might have gotten overlooked, but the rest of the movie wasn’t. The CBS Films indie hit earned a deserved nominations for Jeff Bridges (Best Supporting Actor), Taylor Sheridan (Best Screenplay) and, most importantly, Best Picture. Many Academy members have already seen ‘Hell.’ What the Globes nods will assist with is making sure those that haven’t will watch their screener over the holiday break.
Best: HFPA comes through for “Lion”
There has been no movie that has had a bigger problem getting the Oscar pundits to rally around it than “Lion.” Reviews have been mediocre to positive and the box office has been O.K. Still, it was the runner-up for the TIFF audience award and has taken a lot of similar honors at festivals around the country. Moreover, it’s an emotional story told in an artful way that should appeal to the Academy. Like A24 and “Moonlight,” The Weinstein Company has the chance to use a “Best Picture” nomination tag to get more audiences to see the film. And that extra box office may be the difference in convincing Oscar voters its truly worthy.