Black-draped Globes about empowerment
With a red carpet dyed black by actresses dressed in a color-coordinated statement, the Golden Globes were transformed into an A-list expression of female empowerment in the post-Harvey Weinstein era. Oprah Winfrey led the charge.
“For too long women have not been heard or believed if they dared to speak their truth to the power of those men,” said Winfrey, accepting the Cecil B. DeMille Award for lifetime achieve- ment. “But their time is up. Their time is up!”
More than any award handed out Sunday at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California, Winfrey’s moment — one greeted by a rousing, ongoing standing ovation and that left many attendees and viewers in tears — encapsulated the “Me Too” mood at an atypically powerful Golden Globes. The night served as Hollywood’s fullest response yet to the sexual harassment scandals that have roiled the film industry and laid bare its gender inequalities.
“A new day is on the horizon!” promised Winfrey, who noted she was the first black woman to be given the honor.
With a cutting stare, presenter Natalie Portman followed Winfrey’s speech by introducing, as she said, “the all-male” nominees for best director.
The movie that many con- sider speaks most directly to the moment — the revenge dark comedy “Three Bill- boards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” about a mother avenging the rape and murder of her daughter — emerged as the night’s top film. It won best picture, drama, best actress for Frances McDor- mand, best supporting actor for Sam Rockwell and best screenplay for writer-direc- tor Martin McDonagh.
McDormand granted she was befuddled at the identities of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, but gave them credit. “At least they managed to elect a female president,” she said.
The first award of the night, perhaps fittingly, went to one of Hollywood’s most powerful women: Nicole Kid- man, for her performance in
HBO’s “The Big Little Lies,” a series she and Reese With- erspoon also produced. Kid- man chalked the win up to
“the power of women.”
“Big Little Lies” won a leading four awards, includ- ing best limited series and best supporting actress for
Laura Dern. Like seven other female stars, Dern walked the red carpet with a women’s rights activist as part of an effort to keep the Globes spotlight trained on sexual harassment. Dern was joined by farmworker advocate
Monica Ramirez, Michelle
Williams with “Me Too” founder Tarana Burke, and
Meryl Streep with domestic worker advocate Ai-jen Poo.
“May we teach all of our children that speaking out without fear of retribution is our new North Star,” said
Dern, accepting her Globe.
Other winners continued the theme. Amazon’s recently debuted “The Marvelous Mrs.
Maisel,” about a 1950s house- wife who takes up stand-up comedy, won best TV series comedy, and best actress for
Rachel Brosnahan. Elisabeth
Moss, accepting an award for her performance in Hulu’s
“The Handmaid’s Tale,” movingly dedicated her award to Margaret Atwood, whose book the show is based on, and the women who came before her and after her. “The Handmaid’s Tale” later added the award for best TV series, drama.
“We no longer live in the blank white spaces at the edge of print,” said Moss, referencing Atwood’s prose. “We no longer live in the gaps between the stories. We are the stories in print and we are writing the stories ourselves.” Hollywood’s awards season is seen as wide open, and a handful of movies came away with big wins. Greta Gerwig’s moth- er-daughter tale “Lady Bird” won best picture, comedy or musical, and best actress for Saoirse Ronan. Guillermo del Toro’s Cold War-era fantasy “The Shape of Water” won for its score and del Toro’s directing. Notably left empty-handed was Christopher Nolan’s “Dunkirk,” Jordan Peele’s horror sensation “Get Out” and Steven Spielberg’s “The Post,” which host Seth Meyers, alluding to its awards-season bona fides, feigned to present an armful of Globes before the show even started. Best actor in a comedy or musical went to James Franco for his performance as the infamous “The Room” filmmaker Tommy Wiseau. Gary Oldman, considered by some to be the best actor front runner, won for his Winston Churchill in “Darkest Hour,” edging out newcomer Timothee Chalamet (“Call Me By Your Name”) and Tom Hanks (“The Post”). Best foreign language film went to Germany’s “In the Fade.” Allison Janney took best supporting actress in a comedy for the Tonya Hard- ing tale “I, Tonya.” Aziz Ansari took best actor in a comedy series for his Net- flix show “Master of None.”