The Golden Globes are back, and with them, the boozy, confusing logic of the racist, though apparently reforming, Hollywood Foreign Press Association. The HFPA and the Globes have always been a bit of mystery, logically speaking – remember when Aaron Taylor-Johnson won one for Nocturnal Animals, for example? – but they’re also often a fascinating harbinger of the awards season to come.
This year’s crop of nominations has plenty of surprises, but like any list of nominees, there are a lot of snubs too. Here, Gawker will give a fond salute to the fallen soldiers of the HFPA’s reign of terror.
Todd Field (TÁR)
Did Best Picture and Best Screenplay nominee TÁR just direct itself? Say what you want about both TÁR and directing nominee The Banshees of Inisherin, but one of those films is definitely more directed than the other.
Bella Ramsay (Catherine Called Birdy)
The great lead of Lena Dunham’s Catherine Called Birdy gives one of the most winning performances in any movie – let alone any comedy – of the year. It’s a shame to see such a nuanced embodiment of a teenage girl in medieval England lose out to the thinly-drawn, unfunny performance by Anya Taylor-Joy in the over-obvious The Menu.
Jessica Chastain (The Good Nurse)
Chastain picked up a nomination for her work on Showtime’s George & Tammy miniseries, but failed to scoop one up alongside co-star Eddie Redmayne, the sole nominee from their Netflix film, The Good Nurse. Sort of weird you would not nominate the titular good nurse to whom the bad nurse (Redmayne) is being compared?
Ayo Edibiri (The Bear)
Actually, given her behavior towards my coworker Olivia, it’s fine to see her left off this list.
EO (EO)
We all love the fabulous Polish donkey who roams post-post-modern Europe in a journey of both heartbreak and wonder!!! So why would the Hollywood Foreign Press Association ignore the little sweetie in favor of the stupid All Quiet On The Western Front adaptation? We KNOW war is bad.
Nina Hoss (TÁR)
It’s my prediction that the forthcoming awards season will not be kind to TÁR or any of its supporting players, on-screen and off, thus cementing its place as an all-time great film.
Lashana Lynch (The Woman King)
It’s great to have Viola Davis nominated for her excellent, steely performance in The Woman King, but Lashana Lynch is a powerfully charismatic force in the film, its beating heart. It’s a shame not to recognize a real breakout role for an up-and-coming actress.
Theo James & Meghann Fahy (The White Lotus)
Lots of love for Lotus favorite Jennifer Coolidge and headstrong newcomer Aubrey Plaza and industry staple F. Murray Abraham. NO love for the coolest couple in the whole world who never did anything wrong to each other or anyone else?
Tom Hanks (Elvis)
Say what you want about his performance in this movie, but Tom Hanks in Elvis is the most Golden Globes performance (vaguely European, definitely racist) of all time.
