“The Revenant,” Leo grab top awards
Frontier thriller lands multiple wins, taking best film, best director, best actor; Sylvester Stallone, left, named best supporting actor for “Creed.”
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu’s bloody frontier thriller “The Revenant” landed an upset win at the 73rd annual Golden Globe Awards, taking best film, best director and best actor for Leonardo DiCaprio.
A year after Inarritu’s “Birdman” took top honors at the Academy Awards, his follow-up swept three of the top awards at the Globes on Sunday.
In winning best director, Inarritu bested the favored Ridley Scott, director of the science-fiction survival tale “The Martian.” That film, however, won best film comedy and best actor in a comedy for Matt Damon.
“Comedy?” Scott wondered, taking the podium, answering with a skeptical wave of his hand.
Sylvester Stallone scored a knockout 29 years after the first “Rocky,” Jennifer Lawrence notched her third Golden Globe, and Matt Damon landed both best actor for his stranded astronaut in “The Martian” and withering jabs from host Ricky Gervais at the Beverly Hills, Calif., ceremony.
Nominated for the same character that earned him his only other Golden Globe nod, Stallone took best supporting actor for the “Rocky” sequel-reboot “Creed.” The crowd greeted him with a standing ovation.
“I want to thank my imaginary friend Rocky Balboa for being the best friend I ever had,” said Stallone.
Though security was especially tight to guard against terrorism, the Gervais-led Globes evidenced little of the seriousness that marks most award shows or the tearyeyed acceptance speeches. Instead, the Globes had a particularly unraveled atmosphere that included Jonah Hill dressed as the bear from “The Revenant,” copious discussion of “Transparent” star Jeffrey Tambor’s male anatomy by Gervais, and much buzzing about Sean Penn’s escapade with Mexican drug kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman.
Gervais greeted the crowd (which he labeled “pill-popping sexual deviant scum”) with a predictably astringent opening, setting the tone for a much-bleeped night that was at turns irreverent and frivolous.
“I want to do this monologue and then go into hiding. Not even Sean Penn will find me,” he said, pausing for a swig. “Snitch.”
In his fourth time hosting, Gervais’ act dominated the evening, often drawing loud laughs from the Beverly Hilton hotel audience, but also the expected criticism. In a particularly awkward encounter, he and Mel Gibson stood arm-in-arm after exchanging insults.
“I love seeing Ricky once every three years because it reminds me to get a colonoscopy,” said Gibson.
Best actress went to Brie Larson, the breakout star of the captive mother-son drama “Room.” A gleeful Larson concluded: “I’m sorry for anyone I forgot. I’ll write you a thank-you card.”
Lawrence, who spent much of the night with her new friend and collaborator Amy Schumer (herself a nominee for “Trainwreck”), scored her third Globe for a David O. Russell-directed film. After winning for “Silver Linings Playbook” and “American Hustle,” she made it three for “Joy.”
Damon had to suffer being introduced by Gervais as “the only person who Ben Affleck hasn’t been unfaithful to,” but he later won best actor in a comedy for “The Martian.” Damon said the film’s success was an unlikely pleasure: “I have made a lot of movies that people just didn’t go see.”
Scott was also pegged by many for best director, too, but that honor went to Inarritu for the frontier thriller “The Revenant,” fresh off a $37 million debut that nearly toppled the box-office behemoth “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” — which didn’t screen in time for the Hollywood Foreign Press to consider.
Referencing the production difficulties of the on-location shoot in the Canadian Rockies, Innaritu said: “Pain is temporary. A film is forever.”
Though “Steve Jobs” failed to win over many critics or moviegoers, Danny Boyle’s drama about the Apple cofounder earned best screenplay for Aaron Sorkin and best supporting actress for Kate Winslet. Winning her fourth Globe in 11 nominations, Winslet triumphed over the lauded Alicia Vikander for “Ex Machina,” though Vikander was also contending for best actress in “The Danish Girl.”
Citing the crowded categories, Winslet remarked: “What an incredible year for women in film.”
The Globes have grown into one of the most popular award show broadcasts of the year, thanks to increasingly credible nominees, its trademark relaxed atmosphere and its unique position as a major awards show that honors both film and television.