Going for gold on Monday
We might be reeling from the choices of the Golden Globe selectors, but there are still some fab flicks up for the main prizes, finds
Next week’s Golden Globes mark the start of the pandemic-delayed awards season in earnest. As is now seemingly expected each year, the Hollywood Foreign Press’ choices across dramas and music-comedies offer nominations that are both bravura and downright bizarre.
For every deserved accolade for flicks like Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and News of the World, there’s a ‘‘what were they thinking’’ vibe about the rewards for much-derided fare (Music, The Prom) and outrage about the films they all-but or completely ignored (Minari, Da 5 Bloods).
However, among the Globes’ top contenders are some of the most impressive movies of the past year. To prepare you for Monday afternoon’s ceremony (New Zealand time), Stuff has come up with this list of seven of the best – and where you can find them.
Mank (Netflix)
What it’s about: Based on a script by his father Jack, David Fincher (The Social Network, Seven) directs this biographical drama based around the battles between legendary Hollywood screenwriter Herman J Mankiewicz and Citizen Kane director Orson Welles over who should get credit for that film’s story.
The cast includes Gary Oldman, Amanda Seyfried, Lily Collins, Tuppence Middleton and Charles Dance.
What it has been nominated for: Best Drama, Best Dramatic Actor (Oldman), Best Supporting Actress (Seyfried), Best Director (David Fincher), Best Screenplay (Jack Fincher), Best Score (Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross)
What we thought of it: ‘‘You cannot capture a man’s entire life in two hours. All you can hope is to leave the impression of one,’’ Mank says of biopics. Well, this one leaves one hell of a mark.’’
The Trial of the Chicago 7 (Netflix)
What it’s about: Aaron Sorkin wrote and directed this legal drama which follows the fortunes of a group of anti-Vietnam War protesters charged with conspiracy relating to riots that surrounded the 1968 Democratic convention in Chicago. The impressive acting ensemble includes Sacha Baron Cohen, Eddie Redmayne, Michael Keaton, Frank Langella, Mark Rylance and Joseph Gordon-Levitt.
What it has been nominated for: Best Drama, Best Supporting Actor (Baron Cohen), Best Director (Sorkin), Best Screenplay (Sorkin), Best Original Song
(Hear My Voice).
What we thought of it: ‘‘Pandemic aside, it’s hard not to feel that the events depicted here could be contemporary, rather than from more than 50 years ago, and this Trial will leave you both troubled and hopeful for America’s future (which was surely Sorkin’s intention all along). As Baron Cohen’s Abbie Hoffman so eloquently puts it, ‘the Institutions of government are wonderful things, but right now are populated by some terrible people’.’’
The Father (In cinemas from March 26)
What it’s about: Adapting his own 2012 play, Florian Zeller’s drama focuses on Anthony (Anthony Hopkins), a man refusing all assistance from his daughter (Olivia Colman) as he ages. As he tries to make sense of his changing circumstances, he begins to doubt his loved ones, his own mind and even the fabric of his reality.
What it has been nominated for: Best Drama, Best Dramatic Actor (Hopkins), Best Supporting Actress (Colman), Best Screenplay (Florian Zeller, Christopher Hampton)
What others thought about It: ‘‘A bracingly insightful, subtle and nuanced look at encroaching dementia and the toll it takes on those in close proximity to the afflicted,’’ wrote The Hollywood Reporter’s Todd McCarthy.
Nomadland (Returning to cinemas March 4)
What it’s about: Winner of the prestigious audience award at September’s Toronto Film Festival, as well as many other accolades, this US drama stars Frances McDormand as a woman who leaves her small town to travel around the American Midwest, while living out of her van. It is based on Jessica Bruder’s 2017 non-fiction book Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century.
What it has been nominated for: Best Drama, Best Dramatic Actress (McDormand), Best Director (Chloe Zhao), Best Screenplay (Zhao)
What we thought of it: ‘‘Zhao’s film is a slowcooked triumph of detail and watchfulness over spectacle and drama. And yet, in these tiny, perfectly observed human stories, there is more being said about the broken state of America and its systems and values today than in a dozen noisier, more attention-seeking dramas.’’
Promising Young Woman (Still screening in select cinemas)
What it’s about: Debuting to rave reviews at last year’s Sundance Film Festival, in this black comedy Carey Mulligan’s character extracts revenge on those who seek to take advantage of her. Adam Brody, Laverne Cox, Alison Brie and Jennifer Coolidge also feature.
What it has been nominated for: Best Drama, Best Dramatic Actress (Mulligan), Best Director (Emerald Fennell), Best Screenplay (Fennell).
What we thought of it: ‘‘Fennell’s script segues quite brilliantly from hilarious rom-com to dark drama that will leave you emotionally exhausted by the end. There are times when it all feels rather bleak, others when you think Cassie will get her happily ever after. That you’re left flummoxed by where the film’s final destination will be is fairly unique and very welcome.’’
Borat Subsequent Moviefilm (Amazon Prime Video)
What it’s about: After his 2006 ‘‘documentary’’ made Kazakhstan a laughing stock, the disgraced Borat Sagdiyev (Sacha Baron Cohen) is given a chance to redeem himself by returning to America with a ‘‘bribe’’ for President Donald Trump. But when his original gift is damaged in an unfortunate incident, he’s forced to improvise, offering up his estranged daughter (Maria Bakalova) instead.
What it has been nominated for: Best Musical/Comedy, Best Comedic Actress (Bakalova), Best Comedic Actor (Baron Cohen).
What we thought of it: ‘‘As anyone who watched Baron Cohen’s 2018 series Who is America? will know, you have to wade through a lot of potentially offensive and distasteful material to get to the real truth of what he’s trying to say – and the nuggets of comedic gold.
‘‘It’s likely many viewers won’t make it past the first 15 minutes, but there is a payoff for those who do. You might not approve of his methods, but the results are shocking and, occasionally, uproariously funny.’’
One Night in Miami (Amazon Prime Video)
What it’s about: Oscar-winning actor Regina King’s (If Beale St Could Talk) feature debut as director imagines a February 1964 meeting between boxer Cassius Clay, singer Sam Cooke, sportsman-turned-actor Jim Brown and civil rights activist Malcolm X. Based on Kemp Powers’ 2013 play of the same name, it sees the quartet debate how best to channel their respective influence over audiences into making a difference.
What it has been nominated for: Best Supporting Actor (Leslie Odom Jr), Best Director (King), Best Original Song (Speak Now).
What we thought of it: ‘‘From the opening scene of Clay not sticking to the fight plan against Henry Cooper, to the final poignant Malcolm X quote made just days before his death, King’s period drama is a compelling, thought-provoking and extremely apposite conversation about the African-American experience. The discussions had by the foursome provide a measure of how far and how little that country seems to have come in race relations since then.’’
SkyTV’s coverage of the 2021 Golden Globes will begin with live footage from the ‘‘reduced’’ red carpet(s) on E! Channel from noon on Monday. The ceremony will screen on Vibe from 2.30pm. Both programmes will also be simulcast on Sky Go.