The 2017 Golden Globe nominations were announced on Monday, with film and television’s best getting much-deserved credit for incredible filmmaking, performances and behind the scenes work. With surprises, snubs and locks abound, here’s a breakdown of the major categories.
Best Motion Picture – Drama:
“Hacksaw Ridge”
“Hell Or High Water”
“Lion”
“Manchester By The Sea”
“Moonlight”
There’s not too much surprise in the Best Drama category, as critically acclaimed indie features led the pack. Mel Gibson’s Hacksaw Ridge was the most expensive film to produce, checking in at $40 million. None of the other nominations topped a budget of $12 million. The diverse set of nominations features a war epic (Hacksaw Ridge), a modern Western (Hell or High Water) and a coming-of-age tale (Moonlight). Early favorites are Moonlight and the gut-wrenching Manchester By the Sea.
Frankly, I’m shocked Arrival didn’t score a nomination. The Amy Adams-starring sci-fi standout was gorgeous, flawless and thought-provoking. It was 2016’s best film. Also, pure silence for Martin Scorsese’s historical drama Silence.
Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy:
“20th Century Women”
“Deadpool”
“La La Land”
“Florence Foster Jenkins”
“Sing Street”
Deadpool getting a nomination is a huge surprise. It likely stood out to voters, considering its crass, subversive nature. Plus, it was funny as hell.
Not to discredit the other nominees, but La La Land is a virtual lock in the category. A throwback movie set in old Hollywood is exactly the type of film voters eat up, although it deserves all the accolades it receives.
I would have liked seeing Shane Black’s buddy-cop 80s comedy The Nice Guys score a nomination despite being a box office bomb.
Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama:
Amy Adams – “Arrival”
Jessica Chastain – “Miss Sloane”
Isabelle Huppert – “Elle”
Ruth Negga – “Loving”
Natalie Portman – “Jackie”
Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy:
Annette Bening – “20th Century Women”
Lily Collins – “Rules Don’t Apply”
Hailee Steinfeld – “The Edge of Seventeen”
Emma Stone – “La La Land”
Meryl Streep – “Florence Foster Jenkins”
In the Best Actress category, there are plenty of familiar faces with Meryl Streep, Emma Stone (the likely winner for best Musical/ Comedy) and Amy Adams. It’s a talented bunch. In the drama category, Amy Adams should win for her spellbinding performance in Arrival. She carries the movie. But the award is Natalie Portman’s to lose. She’s earned heaps of praise for her titular role in Jackie. Playing a real-life character will help bump her ahead of Adams.
In the Musical or Comedy performance, as mentioned above, Stone’s a lock. However, the most underrated performance of 2016 was Steinfield in the modern John Hughes-like Edge of Seventeen. Steinfeld is pitch perfect (bad pun) as a teen trying to navigate through changes in her life. She’s the real deal.
Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama:
Casey Affleck – “Manchester By The Sea”
Joel Edgerton – “Loving”
Andrew Garfield – “Hacksaw Ridge”
Viggo Mortensen – “Captain Fantastic”
Denzel Washington – “Fences”
Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy:
Colin Farrell – “The Lobster”
Ryan Gosling – “La La Land”
Hugh Grant – “Florence Foster Jenkins”
Jonah Hill – “War Dogs”
Ryan Reynolds – “Deadpool”
He won’t win, but it’s fantastic to see Viggo Mortensen get a nom for his nuanced performance in Captain Fantastic. Mortensen bares it all (literally) in the role and carries a sweet film about adjusting from living off the grid to entering the real world. The actors rounding out the nominations all are deserved but I think “Baby Affleck” is the front-runner. His performance in Manchester by the Sea has, by far, received the most buzz entering awards season.
Jonah Hill earning a nomination for War Dogs feels like a legacy nomination. Reynolds earning a spot for playing the merc with the mouth is appropriate. However, Gosling will win.
https://youtu.be/8QCNjHA5FvQ
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture:
Mahershala Ali – “Moonlight”
Jeff Bridges – “Hell or High Water”
Simon Helberg – “Florence Foster Jenkins”
Dev Patel – “Lion”
Aaron Taylor-Johnson – “Nocturnal Animals”
Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture:
Viola Davis – “Fences”
Naomie Harris – “Moonlight”
Nicole Kidman – “Lion”
Octavia Spencer – “Hidden Figures”
Michelle Williams – “Manchester by the Sea”
Golden Globe voters could have gone two ways with Supporting Actor. Past nominee Jeff Bridges would be a fitting winner, considering he’s playing to his strengths in Hell or High Water. But Mahershala Ali, who’s had a stupendous 2016, would make a perfect first-time winner. In the same regard, Naomie Harris winning would be fantastic, although I’m totally cool with Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer hearing their name called.
Best Director – Motion Picture:
Damien Chazelle – “La La Land”
Tom Ford – “Nocturnal Animals”
Mel Gibson – “Hacksaw Ridge”
Barry Jenkins – “Moonlight”
Kenneth Lonergan – “Manchester by the Sea”
It’s nice to see Gibson on the list, but Chazelle will win this award. There’s no debating otherwise.
Best Television Series – Drama:
“The Crown”
“Game Of Thrones”
“Stranger Things”
“This Is Us”
“Westworld”
A stacked category features plenty of heavy hitters from an excellent year of television. Game of Thrones turned in a quality season, while many expected it to flounder after running out of source material. Stranger Things, meanwhile, hit all the nostalgia buttons while delivering a unique, performance-driven sci-fi horror series. This is Us surprised after its cheesy advertisements suggested it was a show best suited for Grandma, but it’s arguably network TV’s best drama. It seems like this is Thrones’ year, but don’t count out the Netflix crew.
Suspiciously absent from the list is The Leftovers, which turned in one of the best seasons of television ever. Also, no love for last year’s winner, Mr. Robot. Although it’s tough to replace one of the five shows listed in the category, as all are deserving.
Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy:
“Atlanta”
“Black-ish”
“Mozart In The Jungle”
“Transparent”
“Veep”
Instinctively, Transparent shouldn’t qualify, as it’s not a comedy series, but that’s an issue for another day. Last year’s winner,Mozart in the Jungle, is a gem of a show, which is unlikely to win back-to-back. Donald Glover’s Atlanta should win, but I wouldn’t be upset if Veep got some Golden Globe love following another smashing season.
It’s disappointing to see Silicon Valley get passed over, but again, there’s no wrong choice here.
https://youtu.be/v897j-po0eM
Best Performance by an Actress In A Television Series – Drama:
Caitriona Balfe – “Outlander”
Claire Foy – “The Crown”
Keri Russell – “The Americans”
Winona Ryder – “Stranger Things”
Evan Rachel Wood – “Westworld”
Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy:
Rachel Bloom – “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend”
Julia Louis-Dreyfus – “Veep”
Sarah Jessica Parker – “Divorce”
Issa Rae – “Insecure”
Gina Rodriguez – “Jane the Virgin”
Tracee Ellis-Ross – “Black-ish”
The Best Actress category is almost completely different from last year’s nominations, save Caitriona Balfe. The Americans is finally starting to see award returns on its critical success, so Keri Russell earning a trophy for a first-time nod in the show’s fourth season would be OK in my books. It’s nice to see Winona Ryder get love for her performance as a never-give-up mom in Stranger Things. Evan Rachel Wood might have a leg-up on the competition after winning Best Actress at the Critics Choice Awards on Sunday. The category is exclusively white, which is hard to fathom, especially with Taraji P. Henson (last year’s winner) failing to get nominated for Empire.
In a stacked Comedy-Musical category, Rachel Bloom deserves her second consecutive statue for her excellent work on the never-dull musical-comedy Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. But with a comeback in tow, Sarah Jessica Parker could get some love for her performance on the well-received Divorce.
Nothing for the Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt or its lovable lead Elle Kemper.
Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy:
Anthony Anderson – “Black-ish”
Gael García Bernal – “Mozart in the Jungle”
Donald Glover – “Atlanta”
Nick Nolte – “Graves”
Jeffrey Tambor – “Transparent”
Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Drama:
Rami Malek – “Mr. Robot”
Bob Odenkirk – “Better Call Saul”
Matthew Rhys – “The Americans”
Liev Schreiber – “Ray Donovan”
Billy Bob Thornton – “Goliath”
Gael Garcia Bernal’s performance in Mozart in the Jungle is odd and unique enough to earn him a second consecutive trophy. But Donald Glover does present an interesting challenge. His layered performance in Atlanta might propel him as the latest newbie to earn the honor.
On the drama side, Rami Malek’s performance on Mr. Robot, whether you liked or hated the second season, was exceptional. I don’t think any of the fellow nominees are strong enough to overtake him. I am surprised to see Kit Harrington not get a nomination for his physical performance in GoT’s Battle of the Bastards.
https://youtu.be/nAyn1gDBc7s
Best Limited Series:
“American Crime”
“The Dresser”
“The Night Manager”
“The Night Of”
“The People v O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story”
The People v O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story captivated viewers like no other show in 2016, so it’s a lock here. Props to The Night Of for an excellent season, however.
