Words: Anna Galbraith
Nominations for the 2020 Golden Globes Awards (now in its 77th year) have been announced — marking a fantastic year for Netflix, and giving us a reliable template for how the rest of the awards season might look. While there aren’t too many surprises among the list, there are plenty of movies to shoot straight to the top of your must-watch list, and selecting the winners won’t be an easy task for the judges.
To help them on their way, the GJ team has made some gentle suggestions for who should scoop up an armful of gold this year. Read on for our winners.
Best Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy
Nominated:
- Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
- Jojo Rabbit
- Knives Out
- Rocketman
- Dolemite Is My Name
Should Win: Knives Out
Our vote goes to this remarkable, classic whodunnit, fronted by Bond himself. In Knives Out, writer and director Rian Johnson pays tribute to mystery mastermind Agatha Christie in this fun, modern-day murder mystery where everyone is a suspect.
Best Motion Picture — Drama
Nominated:
- The Irishman
- Marriage Story
- 1917
- Joker
- The Two Popes
Should Win: Joker
Joker centres around Batman’s iconic arch nemesis — offering an original, standalone story not seen before on the big screen. Todd Phillips’ exploration of Arthur Fleck, indelibly portrayed by Joaquin Phoenix, is of a man struggling to find his way in Gotham’s fractured society. Caught in a cyclical existence between apathy and cruelty, Arthur makes one bad decision that brings about a chain reaction of escalating events in this gritty character study.
Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Nominated:
- Tom Hanks (A Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood)
- Anthony Hopkins (The Two Popes)
- Al Pacino (The Irishman)
- Joe Pesci (The Irishman)
- Brad Pitt (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood)
Should win: Brad Pitt
The Best Supporting categories are where the real A-list parties are happening this year, and sitting resplendently amongst the nominees for best supporting actor is Brad Pitt for the role of Cliff Booth in Once Upon A Time In Hollywood. In the film, a faded television actor (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his stunt double (Pitt) strive to achieve fame and success in the film industry during the final years of Hollywood’s Golden Age in 1969 Los Angeles.
Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Nominated:
- Kathy Bates (Richard Jewell)
- Annette Bening (The Report)
- Laura Dern (Marriage Story)
- Jennifer Lopez (Hustlers)
- Margot Robbie (Bombshell)
Should win: Annette Bening
We can’t help but feel that The Report failed to receive the buzz it deserved when it was given a small release before heading straight for Amazon Prime earlier this year. As Senator Feinstein, Bening is as excellent as ever — as she launches an investigation into the CIA’s use of torture following the September 11 attacks.
Best Actor in a Motion Picture — Drama
Nominated:
- Christian Bale (Ford v Ferrari)
- Antonio Banderas (Pain and Glory)
- Adam Driver (Marriage Story)
- Joaquin Phoenix (Joker)
- Jonathan Pryce (The Two Popes)
Should win: Adam Driver
Netflix has truly dominated this year’s list, with 17 nominations for film alone, and it is Noah Baumbach’s Marriage Story which has topped the film categories with no fewer than six nominations, including this nod to its frontman, Adam Driver. In the film, he plays a stage director struggling through a gruelling, coast-to-coast divorce which pushes the couple to their personal and creative extremes.
Best Actress in a Motion Picture — Drama
Nominated:
- Cynthia Erivo (Harriet)
- Scarlett Johansson (Marriage Story)
- Saoirse Ronan (Little Women)
- Charlize Theron (Bombshell)
- Renée Zellweger (Judy)
Should win: Renée Zellweger
The Best Actress statuette appears to already have Renée Zellweger’s name etched upon it — which must be mighty dispiriting news for her fellow potential nominees. Her performance in Judy – as Judy Garland – transcends the rainbow, leaving the competition all the way back in Kansas.
Best Actress in a Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy
Nominated:
- Awkwafina (The Farewell)
- Ana de Armas (Knives Out)
- Cate Blanchett (Where’d You Go, Bernadette)
- Beanie Feldstein (Booksmart)
- Late Night)
Should win: Ana de Armas
We’ve already raved about Knives Out, and playing its central female protagonist is next year’s Bond girl, Ana de Armas. In the film, the actress portrays Marta Cabrera, a caregiver who not only finds herself embroiled in the murder investigation of her former employer, Harlan Thrombey, but is also at the centre of volatile conversations about immigration.
Best Actor in a Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy
Nominated:
- Daniel Craig (Knives Out)
- Roman Griffin Davis (Jojo Rabbit)
- Leonardo DiCaprio (Once Upon A Time In Hollywood)
- Taron Egerton (Rocketman)
- Eddie Murphy (Dolemite is My Name)
Should win: Taron Egerton
A lot of time, and brilliant cinema, might have come and gone since Taron Egerton blasted onto our screens as Elton John, but it’s worth remembering just how good he was as the extravagantly dressed, deeply troubled musical legend.
Best Director of a Motion Picture
Nominated:
- Bong Joon-ho (Parasite)
- Sam Mendes (1917)
- Todd Phillips (Joker)
- Martin Scorsese (The Irishman)
- Quentin Tarantino (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood)
Should win: Sam Mendes
1917 is based in part on an account told to Mendes by his paternal grandfather, Alfred Mendes, and it chronicles the story of two young British soldiers at the height of WWI who have been given a mission to deliver a message which will warn of an ambush soon after the German retreat to the Hindenburg Line. Filming was accomplished with long takes and elaborately choreographed moving camera shots to give the effect of one continuous take.
Looking for more hot tips? We asked the experts for their 2020 awards predictions…
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