Todd Haynes’ lesbian drama ‘Carol’ won most nominations for the 73rd annual Golden Globes, announced on Thursday in Los Angeles. ‘Carol’, which first screened at the Cannes Film festival in May, managed to grab five nominations, including one for motion picture in drama category, two for its lead actresses - Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara, one for best director and one for original score.
This year, the lead actress in a drama category is well a mixture of one veteran along with four fresh faces. The supremely talented Cate Blanchett and impressively genuine Rooney Mara are nominated for ‘Carol’ along with Alicia Vikander for ‘The Danish Girl’, Brie Larson for ‘Room’ and Saoirse Ronan for ‘Brooklyn’.
Cate Blanchett seems to be a strong contender for this category. However, it is noteworthy that Mara has won the best actress award for ‘Carol’ at Cannes film festival in May this year.
On the other hand, it was a wonderful day for Alicia Vikander because she won two nominations, including one for best actress in a drama and one for best actress in a supporting role in ‘Ex-Machina’. Frankly, Vikander is pitted head-to-head against Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s favourites like Kate Winslet and Helen Mirren for ‘Steve Jobs’ and ‘Trumbo’, respectively, in the best supporting actress race. However, Mirren stands a solid chance to take home an award for her performance in ‘Trumbo’. The other nominees in this category include Jane Fonda for ‘Youth’ and Jennifer Jason Leigh for ‘The Hateful Eight’.
The nominations for best actor in a drama category include Leonardo DiCaprio for ‘The Revenant’, Eddie Redmayne for ‘The Danish Girl’, Will Smith for ‘Concussion’, Michael Fassbender for ‘Steve Jobs’ and Bryan Cranston for ‘Trumbo’. It seems as if Redmayne will win in the actor category for his intensely moving role and transformative turn as a transgender in ‘The Danish Girl’.
In best actor in a musical or comedy category, ‘The Martian’ star Matt Damon is nominated along with Steve Carell and Christian Bale for ‘The Big Short’, Al Pacino for ‘Danny Collins’ and Mark Ruffalo for ‘Infinitely Polar Bear’. I predict Damon to take home the Golden Globes trophy for his honest performance in ‘The Martian’ ensuring a commanding on-screen presence for most of the runtime.
The lead actress in a musical or comedy nominations include Jennifer Lawrence for ‘Joy’, Amy Schumer for ‘Trainwreck’, Melissa McCarthy for ‘Spy’, Maggie Smith for ‘The Lady in the Van’ and Lily Tomlin for ‘Grandma’. It may prove to be a lucky night for Amy Schumer because she has managed to grab eyeballs of both critics and audiences for her role in ‘Trainwreck’. However, it seems that Maggie Smith will have an edge over Schumer because the critical support for Smith’s performance in ‘The Lady in the Van’ has been warmer than Schumer’s performance in ‘Trainwreck’.
The best performance by an actor in a supporting role in a motion picture may well go to Idris Elba for ‘Beasts of No Nation’. Elba is nominated along with Paul Dano for ‘Love & Mercy’, Mark Rylance for ‘Bridge of Spies’, Michael Shannon for ‘99 Homes’ and Sylvester Stallone for ‘Creed’.
In the best motion picture dramaand directorcategory, the sumptuously sensuous ‘Carol’may take away the trophies. On the other hand, Ridley Scott’s ‘The Martian’ may winin the best motion picturemusical or comedy category.
The Golden Globes will be held on January 10 with Ricky Gervais as the host.
