Last night’s Golden Globes winners confirmed that frustrated movie lovers should not stop advocating for quality filmmaking and serious, entertaining stories for grown-ups.
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association handed out chunks of hardware to “The Descendants,” a story of a distant father fighting to reconnect with his children and keep the family going after a tragedy; Woody Allen’s surprise hit “Midnight in Paris,” which celebrates the City of Lights as a frustrated, modern-day writer travels rekindles his artistic passion by traveling back in time to meet his literary idols; and “Hugo” from Martin Scorsese, who shrewdly utilized modern-day technology for his 3D valentine to the earliest days of cinema.
And then there is “The Artist,” a celebration of the early days of Hollywood. It’s a silent film. It was filmed in black-and-white. Its leading actors are unknown to American audiences. And, lo—it’s a hit. Its Golden Globe wins cement its frontrunner status for the Academy Awards.
Not an exploding robot, wisecracking superhero or animated forest creature in that bunch.
Other winners include the family drama “A Separation” for Best Foreign-Language Film. Director Asghar Farhadi took the stage to accept his trophy alongside leading man Peyman Moaadi to make a plea for the inherently loving nature of fellow Iranians.
Fellow honorees such as “The Help” (best supporting actress winner Octavia Spencer) and “The Iron Lady” (best actress/drama winner Meryl Streep) have managed to spin a serious exploration of recent history into broad, popular success. And both films boast female leads! That’s an incredible accomplishment but there was no guarantee that Hollywood, a notorious old-boy’s club, would take notice when awards season rolled around.
The Globes are traditionally a solid bellwether for the eventual nominees and winners for the Academy Awards. So fans of quality cinema can look forward to good news on Oscar night.
Even on the television front, in addition to such popular, widely-seen winners as “Modern Family” as Best Comedy/Musical Series, and supporting-actor winner Peter Dinklage for the hit HBO fantasy-drama series “Game of Thrones,” the Globes handed out hardware to programs with critical acclaim but, as yet, a small audience.
Laura Dern and Matt LeBlanc earned trophies for “Enlightened,” about a troubled woman undergoing a spiritual awakening, and “Episodes,” a sly, satiric jab at Hollywood buffoonery. Comic actor Kelsey Grammer also won for his career reinvention as a morally bankrupt politician in “Boss” on the Starz cable channel.
All three shows, and their leading actors, have earned critical hosannas but their total audience is a mere fraction of the latest episode of “Jersey Shore” or “Keeping Up with the Kardashians.”
Fans of quality filmmaking: don’t give up hope just yet.
CLICK HERE for the HFPA website and a full list of Globes honorees.