To most who watched, Sunday’s Golden Globes ceremony was a bit of a letdown compared with previous years. Tina Fey and Amy Poehler have had funnier jokes, and winners were safely chosen (with a few exceptions). Even the dresses were pretty basic.
One trend was worth noting, however: In their acceptance speeches, the majority of female winners made a point to support and credit one another in a male-led industry.
What’s more interesting is how there doesn’t seem be as confident of a frontrunner for Best Actress looking forward to the Academy Awards this year as there was last year with Cate Blanchett.
At the start of the Oscar season, critic groups began betting on Julianne Moore for her performance in “Still Alice” as the best lead performance by an actress in 2014. The Gotham Awards followed suit last month and the Globes did the same in the Best Actress in a drama category.
But soon, Marion Cotillard began gaining hype for her performance in “Two Days, One Night.” Fortunately for Cotillard, not receiving nominations from the Globes and the SAGs didn’t hurt her chances at the Oscars.
The biggest surprise win so far this season was Amy Adams for Best Actress in a Comedy at the Globes for her acting in Tim Burton’s “Big Eyes.” Until now, Adams mainly was figured as a token filler spot for the actress categories.
Other actresses whom audiences have been rooting for this awards season are Rosamund Pike for her breakthrough performance in David Fincher’s “Gone Girl” and Reese Witherspoon for her introverted acting in the extroverted “Wild.” Both have received nominations from all the major televised award ceremonies so far.
The most surprising nominees of the season come in the form of Jennifer Aniston in the wacky satire “Cake” and Felicity Jones in the biopic “The Theory of Everything,” who are the underdogs of the season.
Best Supporting Actress almost unanimously has been Patricia Arquette for her (literally) 12-year-old performance in Richard Linklater’s epic “Boyhood.” Arquette’s only competition most likely would come from Keira Knightley for her work in “The Imitation Game” and Jessica Chastain’s scene-stealing support in “A Most Violent Year.” Emma Stone has also been getting consistently nominated for her dramatic transition in “Birdman.”
Other actresses who still have managed to maintain hype throughout 2014 and the beginning of awards season are Scarlett Johansson with “Under the Skin,” Tilda Swinton in “Only Lovers Left Alive” and Naomi Watts in “St. Vincent.”
Here’s to girl power in 2015.
mbianco@durangoherald.com. Megan Bianco is a movie reviewer and also contributes other entertainment-related articles and features.
