2021 Golden Globes Motion Picture Nominations with Our Thoughts and Opinions

Posted on February 03, 2021

Pin

Girl, we don’t even know.

It’s so weird going through the Golden Globes nominations this year because it feels like we’re receiving messages from some alternate earth where everyone saw these films or talked about these performances for more than a few minutes. Not that we’re suggesting these nominees are undeserving (well, not ALL of them, anyway). It’s just that, this year more than most, the divide between the critical arena and the culture-consuming public is wider than ever. We had the benefit of seeing a good deal of these films thanks to the beauty of screeners for critics, but given the weirdness of motion picture releasing in the last ten months, it feels like so many of these nominations are for things no one’s seen or talked about.

 

 

BEST MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA
THE FATHER
MANK
NOMADLAND
PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN
THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7

 

We’d strike Mank and Chicago 7 off that list right off the bat. We love that Promising Young Woman is getting the love it deserves.

 

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA
VIOLA DAVIS – MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM
ANDRA DAY – THE UNITED STATES VS. BILLIE HOLIDAY
VANESSA KIRBY – PIECES OF A WOMAN
FRANCES MCDORMAND – NOMADLAND
CAREY MULLIGAN – PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN

 

As always, actress races are tough. We haven’t seen Andra Day yet, but every one of the others is a formidable performance. If we had to pick, we’d probably go with McDormand.

 

 

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA
RIZ AHMED – SOUND OF METAL
CHADWICK BOSEMAN – MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM
ANTHONY HOPKINS – THE FATHER
GARY OLDMAN – MANK
TAHAR RAHIM – THE MAURITANIAN

We’d be shocked if anyone other than Boseman snagged this, regardless of how deserving they might be.

 

 

BEST MOTION PICTURE – MUSICAL OR COMEDY
BORAT SUBSEQUENT MOVIEFILM
HAMILTON
MUSIC
PALM SPRINGS
THE PROM

 

As much as we loved Palm Springs, this seems like a race between Borat and Hamilton; a film that spoke to this moment exactly and an adaptation of a play that increasingly seems like a product of ten years ago.

 

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – MUSICAL OR COMEDY
MARIA BAKALOVA – BORAT SUBSEQUENT MOVIEFILM
KATE HUDSON – MUSIC
MICHELLE PFEIFFER – FRENCH EXIT
ROSAMUND PIKE – I CARE A LOT
ANYA TAYLOR-JOY – EMMA.

 

This is an odd little selection of actresses. We find the Hudson nom to be one of those head-scratchers from the HFPA that smell like the successful result of a PR campaign. We think Bakalova probably has this one.

 

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE – MUSICAL OR COMEDY
SACHA BARON COHEN – BORAT SUBSEQUENT MOVIEFILM
JAMES CORDEN – THE PROM
LIN-MANUEL MIRANDA – HAMILTON
DEV PATEL – THE PERSONAL HISTORY OF DAVID COPPERFIELD
ANDY SAMBERG – PALM SPRINGS

 

JAMES CORDEN GOT NOMINATED FOR THE PROM BUT MERYL FUCKING STREEP DID NOT. This is all you need to know about the GG nominations. Feh. We suppose it doesn’t matter because SBC probably has this one on lock.

 

BEST MOTION PICTURE – ANIMATED
THE CROODS: A NEW AGE
ONWARD
OVER THE MOON
SOUL
WOLFWALKERS

 

No opinion on this but it would seem like Soul is the frontrunner here.

 

 

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN ANY MOTION PICTURE
GLENN CLOSE – HILLBILLY ELEGY
OLIVIA COLMAN – THE FATHER
JODIE FOSTER – THE MAURITANIAN
AMANDA SEYFRIED – MANK
HELENA ZENGEL – NEWS OF THE WORLD

 

Colman is getting a lot of buzz, but we think Seyfried has this one. Glenn Close may suffer some backlash for such an obvious Oscar-grab of a role.

 

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN ANY MOTION PICTURE
SACHA BARON COHEN – THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7
DANIEL KALUUYA – JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH
JARED LETO – THE LITTLE THINGS
BILL MURRAY – ON THE ROCKS
LESLIE ODOM JR. – ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI…

 

We’d bet Leslie Odom Jr. will walk away with this one.

 

BEST DIRECTOR – MOTION PICTURE
EMERALD FENNELL – PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN
DAVID FINCHER – MANK
REGINA KING – ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI…
AARON SORKIN – THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7
CHLOÉ ZHAO – NOMADLAND

 

LOVE that there are more women nominees than men. This one’s really tough. We think Fennell and King are serious contenders, but Zhao made the kind of artful, topical, prestige picture that snags awards.

 

BEST SCREENPLAY – MOTION PICTURE
EMERALD FENNELL – PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN
JACK FINCHER – MANK
AARON SORKIN – THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7
FLORIAN ZELLER, CHRISTOPHER HAMPTON – THE FATHER
CHLOÉ ZHAO – NOMADLAND

 

We hope Fennell takes this one. That script was brutal.

 

BEST MOTION PICTURE – FOREIGN LANGUAGE
ANOTHER ROUND (DENMARK)
LA LLORONA (GUATEMALA / FRANCE)
THE LIFE AHEAD (ITALY)
MINARI (USA)
TWO OF US (FRANCE / USA)

 

Our only slightly educated guess is that La Llorona and The Life Ahead have buzz and momentum.

 

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE – MOTION PICTURE
ALEXANDRE DESPLAT-  THE MIDNIGHT SKY
LUDWIG GÖRANSSON – TENET
JAMES NEWTON HOWARD – NEWS OF THE WORLD
TRENT REZNOR, ATTICUS ROSS – MANK
TRENT REZNOR, ATTICUS ROSS, JON BATISTE – SOUL

 

BEST ORIGINAL SONG – MOTION PICTURE
“FIGHT FOR YOU” — JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH
Music by: H.E.R., Dernst Emile II
Lyrics by: H.E.R., Tiara Thomas

“HEAR MY VOICE” — THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7
Music by: Daniel Pemberton
Lyrics by: Daniel Pemberton, Celeste Waite

“IO SÌ (SEEN)” — THE LIFE AHEAD
Music by: Diane Warren
Lyrics by: Diane Warren, Laura Pausini, Niccolò Agliardi

“SPEAK NOW” — ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI…
Music by: Leslie Odom Jr, Sam Ashworth
Lyrics by: Leslie Odom Jr, Sam Ashworth

“TIGRESS & TWEED” — THE UNITED STATES VS. BILLIE HOLIDAY
Music by: Andra Day, Raphael Saadiq
Lyrics by: Andra Day, Raphael Saadiq

 

No thoughts on these at all.

 

Click here for our thoughts on the Golden Globes Television nominations.

 

 

[Photo Credit: Getty Images]

Please review our Community Guidelines before posting a comment. Thank you!

blog comments powered by Disqus