2017 Golden Globe Awards: Quick Take Analysis

HFPA

This morning, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association announced the nominees for the 2017 Golden Globe Awards for the films and television in the year ending in a few weeks.

My own personal opinion of the HFPA not withstanding, there are some definite snubs on both the film and television fronts. With the films being separated into both comedy and drama, there can be some surprises that won’t otherwise be considered for the Oscars. I tend to trust the BFCA more so than the HFPA when it comes to nominees but this year, the BFCA kicked things off before the HFPA did, thus not being allowed to screen movies such as Silence, Passengers, or Rogue One. I’m not saying any of those would have been a surefire nominee but Silence has the pedigree for a few nominations.

Best Motion Picture – Drama

Hacksaw Ridge, Hell or High Water, Lion, Manchester by the Sea, Moonlight

With five nominees, some were not going to make the cut. There’s no Arrival, Fences, or Loving. Because of how the HFPA splits films up, there were sure to be some not making the cut.

Best Motion Picture – Comedy/Musical

20th Century Women, Deadpool, Florence Foster Jenkins, La La Land, Sing Street

Both musicals in this category are dramedies but the HFPA puts them in this category by default as they are musicals. Otherwise, there would be room for comedies such as Don’t Think Twice and The Edge of Seventeen, which also joined Deadpool as best comedy nominees by the Critics’ Choice Awards. While both leading actors of Florence Foster Jenkins were nominated by the BFCA, their film was not.

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama

Casey Affleck, Joel Edgerton, Andrew Garfield, Viggo Mortensen, Denzel Washington

Viggo Mortensen is the surprise pick here. I would have chosen Tom Hanks for his role in Sully. With Ryan Gosling in the other category, a slot opened up for another actor. In a perfect world, it would be Hanks but the HFPA chose Mortensen’s performance in Captain Fantastic. It gets better: the BFCA nominated Mortensen for best actor in a comedy so what gives, HFPA?

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama

Amy Adams, Jessica Chastain, Isabelle Huppert, Ruth Negga, Natalie Portman

Chastain delivered a strong performance in Miss Sloane and drove the film but with Annette Benning and Emma Stone nominated in another category, it opened up a slot for another actress in a drama. It’s doubtful that Sloane follows through with an Oscar nomination although I would be surprised if that happens. Most of the above are Oscar locks for nominations.

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Comedy/Musical

Colin Farrell, Ryan Gosling, Hugh Grant, Jonah Hill, Ryan Reynolds

Gosling, Grant, and Reynolds repeat from the Critics’ Choice Awards with Gosling being nominated for La La Land rather than The Nice Guys. Hill seems like an out-of-left field nominee. Mortensen had been a nominee for this category at the CCA but again, the HFPA nominated him for an actor in a drama instead. Farrell isn’t a bad choice here. The Lobster got a lot of critical acclaim but it was released in mid-May and not seen by many, judging by the box office gross under $10 million.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Comedy/Musical

Annette Bening, Lilly Collins, Hailee Steinfeld, Emma Stone, Meryl Streep

Steinfeld and Streep were the only nominees from the Critic’s Choice Awards to repeat their nominations in the category. Because La La Land is a musical, Stone is placed in this category rather than drama. Collins wasn’t a Critics’ Choice nominee and Rules Don’t Apply was a dramedy at best. I would have gone with Kate McKinnon or Sally Field.

Best Performance by a Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture

Mahershala Ali, Jeff Bridges, Simon Helberg, Dev Patel, Aaron Taylor-Johnson

Of all the categories, this is where I have the biggest bone to pick with the HFPA. Where is Michael Shannon? He disappeared into his role as Lt. Bobby Andes in Nocturnal Animals. Ali, Bridges, and Patel are Oscar locks. I’d imagine that both the Academy and the Screen Actors Guild will right the HFPA’s wrong by picking Shannon. Rather than Helberg, why not Lucas Hedges for his performance in Manchester by the Sea?

Best Performance by a Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture

Viola Davis, Naomie Harris, Nicole Kidman, Octavia Spencer, Michelle Williams

Davis, Harris, Kidman, and Williams are locks for Oscar nominations. The only question is the fifth slot. The HFPA went with Octavia Spencer while the Critics’ Choice had six slots and chose her Hidden Figures castmate Janelle Monáe and 20th Century Women‘s Greta Gerwig. Barring a surprise, Davis is winning for Fences.

The 74th Annual Golden Globe Awards will air Sunday, January 8, 2017 on NBC.

Danielle Solzman

Danielle Solzman is native of Louisville, KY, and holds a BA in Public Relations from Northern Kentucky University and a MA in Media Communications from Webster University. She roots for her beloved Kentucky Wildcats, St. Louis Cardinals, Indianapolis Colts, and Boston Celtics. Living less than a mile away from Wrigley Field in Chicago, she is an active reader (sports/entertainment/history/biographies/select fiction) and involved with the Chicago improv scene. She also sees many movies and reviews them. She has previously written for Redbird Rants, Wildcat Blue Nation, and Hidden Remote/Flicksided. From April 2016 through May 2017, her film reviews can be found on Creators.

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