Written by Andreas Babiolakis

The 81st Golden Globes was meant to be a comeback for the problematic awards ceremony, given the years of controversy and the uphill battle the ceremony has faced. With new voting members, major shifts (like Dick Clark Productions taking over from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association), and a promise to best represent the film and television industries, we got what we expected. No. Not what was promised. The usually messy Golden Globes that we expect. Everyone is drunk, high, or on something (Robert Downey Jr. actually admitted to being on beta blockers while accepting his Best Supporting Actor win for Oppenheimer, and he is likely one of the most sober people here). The in-between chinwagging is as forced as can be. This is a kick off for the major awards season and nothing more, and almost everyone knows this. With that in mind, I cannot emphasize how much I care about the wins more than anything, so let’s just do what we do when we watch these awards and just get through the ceremony, shall we?

Host Jo Koy’s intro monologue was full of awkward pauses, and jokes that were either painfully on-the-nose (like his brutal impression of Robert De Niro, down to the “You talkin’ to me?” from Taxi Driver) to the intentionally uncomfortable (asking De Niro about his best “performance” of last year: impregnating someone at the age of eighty). He made a joke about Oppenheimer being impossible to finish because it is so long, and yet the low-hanging fruit was there with the nearly four-hour Killers of the Flower Moon. Other jokes include Barry Kheogan’s penis in Saltburn (and how Bradley Cooper’s prosthetic nose in Maestro is basically another flopping penis, I guess?). Throughout the evening, his material continued to land wonkily, including a Taylor Swift sleight that left her looking beyond unimpressed (that NFL games show her on camera more than this award ceremony will). Needless to say Jo Koy’s intentions were good, but his jokes were indicative of everything that people mock these kinds of award shows for. At least last year’s host, Jerrod Carmichael, went against the grain on purpose and the pain in his monologues and jokes was due to the discomfort he forced us to face (mainly the toxic nature of the entertainment industry and these award shows). You can’t proclaim the same rationale here with Jo Koy’s work which was strenuous despite his enthusiasm and charm, to say the least. This may be due to the fact that he only had a week and a half to prepare (which isn’t a lot of time for anyone), but I have to state how the ceremony was at this current state, and it was rough.

The ceremony shined, as usual, when the winners tried their best to keep their composures out of nerves, excitement, or drunkenness. A particularly great back-to-back was Ayo Edebiri (for The Bear) wanting to thank her family, as in the cast and crew of the show (before stating she wanted to obviously thank “her real family”, too, and virtually everyone “unless they were mean” to her), and Kieran Culkin becoming the Best Actor Waystar CEO over Brian Cox and Jeremy Strong for Succession (and telling fellow nominee Pedro Pascal, of The Last of Us, to “suck it” after his peculiar belch, in which he remarked that he should have just said “thanks” and moved on). The comedy and electricity came mainly from these winners and their on-the-spot rambling.

Early enough in the evening was a more bittersweet and touching acceptance speech by Christopher Nolan: his win for directing Oppenheimer felt like an instant pivot of the awards season race, with the floodgates opening and channelling the race towards a potential Oscars takeover. Here, Nolan reminisced on the last time he was on stage: accepting the posthumous award on behalf of Heath Ledger for his role as The Joker in The Dark Knight. He then stated that this evening felt no differently, because directors accept awards on behalf of others as well (this time, he acts as the face of the entire cast and crew that made Oppenheimer possible). It was a lovely and tender moment in a night that chose chaos when it woke up. Oppenheimer started off its tidal wave of wins early with Robert Downey Jr. winning for Best Supporting Actor with Cillian Murphy (Best Actor, Drama) and Ludwig Göransson (Best Original Score) following; the film would wind up with the final award of the night (Best Picture). Other sweeps included Beef (winning all of its limited series nominations, including for actors Ali Wong and Steven Yuen) and The Bear (same situation here, with Jeremy Allen White and Ayo Edebiri winning alongside the series’ Best Television Series, Musical or Comedy win). And then came Succession, which triumphed with its stellar final season, winning for both acting leads (Kieran Culkin and Sarah Snook), Matthew Macfadyen in a supporting role, and Best Television Series, Drama. Rounding out the major wins was Yorgos Lanthimos’ Poor Things, which pulled off the Best Picture, Musical or Comedy title with star Emma Stone winning for Best Actress in the same category.

Just when I was feeling a bit more hopeful about this night overall, then came the stupidest decision of them all: the newest award titled Cinematic and Box Office Achievement. Basically, “Popular Movie: The Award”. It’s a category that honours the highest-earning box office titles of 2023. It’s as awful as it sounds in a ceremony that is meant to be honouring artistic achievements. Nonetheless, Barbie was the first winner of said award which brings the Barbenheimer phenomenon into full effect this evening (with all of the Oppenheimer wins, a couple of Barbie wins felt inevitable; the film previously won for the Billie Eilish number “What Was I Made For?” right before this subsequent win took place). I have no hope for this God-awful category from here on out, but at least the first winner is a strong comedy that brought people back to the box office and is actually worth cherishing outside of its popularity.

Occasional moments brought a smile to my face. One such example was Lily Gladstone’s powerful speech when she won Best Actress for Killers of the Flower Moon, including the importance that her win means at this very moment and the usage of Blackfoot language in her acceptance (she also brought up how Native American actors had their English dialogue reversed to create an “indigenous” language in films of yesteryear, so we know how far we’ve come today). Justine Triet’s two wins for Anatomy of a Fall were the biggest surprises of the evening (mainly the win for screenwriting), and she used the moment to bring up how the script was concocted while she and co-writer and partner Arthur Harari were isolating during COVID-19. Da’Vine Joy Randolph was the first moment of glee of the evening, mind you, with an ecstatic and raw win for The Holdovers (this is the first of more, I assure you).

The speeches were mostly short and not political (and the few that were felt tasteful and impactful). We actually were only a few minutes over once the ceremony ended, and it was at this point that I took note of what was removed as an effort to make the Golden Globes better for audiences. No speech from Dick Clark Productions. No Cecil B. DeMille or Carol Burnett awards (these were shocking omissions). Even the acting nominations didn’t have clips for us to see why these actors were selected. I also noticed a lack of an in-memorium section, which I’m now questioning if the Golden Globes ever had one (it certainly wouldn’t hurt to honour the many who have passed). We saved many minutes of time, sure, but we lost a bit of the heart that the Golden Globes occasionally had. Outside of the winners and their moments to shine, the Golden Globes themselves felt like their infamous selves, only without the moments of warmth and effort that would bring these zany awards back to reality (at least for a little while). The heart came solely from the winners themselves, and once the 81st Golden Globes prioritized these moments above all else, the ceremony felt a lot more bearable. Otherwise, the Golden Globes are back, for better or for worse. Did they do enough to save themselves from obscurity? Maybe not, but at least the times, when the winners stole the show, reminded us of what these ceremonies should always be about: celebrating masters of their craft.

Winners

Best Motion Picture, Drama

Oppenheimer *WINNER*
Killers of the Flower Moon
Maestro
Past Lives
The Zone of Interest
Anatomy of a Fall

Best Picture, Musical or Comedy

Barbie
Poor Things *WINNER*
American Fiction
The Holdovers
May December
Air

Best Director, Motion Picture

Bradley Cooper — Maestro
Greta Gerwig — Barbie
Yorgos Lanthimos — Poor Things
Christopher Nolan — Oppenheimer *WINNER*
Martin Scorsese — Killers of the Flower Moon
Celine Song — Past Lives

Best Screenplay, Motion Picture

Barbie — Greta Gerwig, Noah Baumbach
Poor Things — Tony McNamara
Oppenheimer — Christopher Nolan
Killers of the Flower Moon — Eric Roth, Martin Scorsese
Past Lives — Celine Song
Anatomy of a Fall — Justine Triet, Arthur Harari *WINNER*

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama

Bradley Cooper — Maestro
Cillian Murphy — Oppenheimer *WINNER*
Leonardo DiCaprio — Killers of the Flower Moon
Colman Domingo — Rustin
Andrew Scott — All of Us Strangers
Barry Keoghan — Saltburn

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture, Drama

Lily Gladstone — Killers of the Flower Moon *WINNER*
Carey Mulligan – Maestro
Sandra Hüller – Anatomy of a Fall
Annette Bening — Nyad
Greta Lee — Past Lives
Cailee Spaeny — Priscilla

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy

Fantasia Barrino – The Color Purple
Jennifer Lawrence – No Hard Feelings
Natalie Portman – May December
Alma Pöysti – Fallen Leaves
Margot Robbie – Barbie
Emma Stone – Poor Things *WINNER*

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy

Nicolas Cage — Dream Scenario
Timothée Chalamet — Wonka
Matt Damon — Air
Paul Giamatti — The Holdovers *WINNER*
Joaquin Phoenix — Beau Is Afraid
Jeffrey Wright — American Fiction

Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture

Willem Dafoe — Poor Things
Robert De Niro — Killers of the Flower Moon
Robert Downey Jr. — Oppenheimer *WINNER*
Ryan Gosling — Barbie
Charles Melton — May December
Mark Ruffalo — Poor Things

Best Supporting Actress, Motion Picture

Emily Blunt — Oppenheimer
Danielle Brooks — The Color Purple
Jodie Foster — Nyad
Julianne Moore — May December
Rosamund Pike — Saltburn
Da’Vine Joy Randolph — The Holdovers *WINNER*

Best Picture, Non-English Language

Anatomy of a Fall — France *WINNER*
Fallen Leaves — Finland
Io Capitano — Italy
Past Lives — United States
Society of the Snow — Spain
The Zone of Interest — United Kingdom

Best Motion Picture, Animated

The Boy and the Heron *WINNER*
Elemental
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
The Super Mario Bros. Movie
Suzume
Wish

Best Original Score, Motion Picture

Ludwig Göransson — Oppenheimer *WINNER*
Jerskin Fendrix — Poor Things
Robbie Robertson — Killers of the Flower Moon
Mica Levi — The Zone of Interest
Daniel Pemberton — Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Joe Hisaishi — The Boy and the Heron

Best Original Song, Motion Picture

Barbie — “What Was I Made For?” by Billie Eilish and Finneas *WINNER*
Barbie — “Dance the Night” by Caroline Ailin, Dua Lipa, Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt
She Came to Me — “Addicted to Romance” by Bruce Springsteen and Patti Scialfa
The Super Mario Bros. Movie — “Peaches” by Jack Black, Aaron Horvath, Michael Jelenic, Eric Osmond, and John Spiker
Barbie — “I’m Just Ken” by Mark Ronson, Andrew Wyatt
Rustin — “Road to Freedom” by Lenny Kravitz

Cinematic and Box Office Achievement

Barbie *WINNER*
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
John Wick: Chapter 4
Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One
Oppenheimer
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
The Super Mario Bros. Movie
Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour

Best Television Series, Drama

1923
The Crown
The Diplomat
The Last of Us
The Morning Show
Succession *WINNER*

Best Television Series, Musical or Comedy

The Bear *WINNER*
Ted Lasso
Abbott Elementary
Jury Duty
Only Murders in the Building
Barry

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series, Drama

Pedro Pascal — The Last of Us
Kieran Culkin — Succession *WINNER*
Jeremy Strong — Succession
Brian Cox — Succession
Gary Oldman — Slow Horses
Dominic West — The Crown

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series, Drama

Helen Mirren — 1923
Bella Ramsey — The Last of Us
Keri Russell — The Diplomat
Sarah Snook — Succession *WINNER*
Imelda Staunton — The Crown
Emma Stone — The Curse

Best Actress in a TV Series, Musical or Comedy

Ayo Edebiri — The Bear *WINNER*
Natasha Lyonne — Poker Face
Quinta Brunson — Abbott Elementary
Rachel Brosnahan — The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Selena Gomez — Only Murders in the Building
Elle Fanning – The Great

Best Actor in a TV Series, Musical or Comedy

Bill Hader — Barry
Steve Martin — Only Murders in the Building
Martin Short — Only Murders in the Building
Jason Segel — Shrinking
Jason Sudeikis — Ted Lasso
Jeremy Allen White — The Bear *WINNER*

Best Supporting Actor, Television

Billy Crudup — The Morning Show
Matthew Macfadyen — Succession *WINNER*
James Marsden — Jury Duty
Ebon Moss-Bachrach — The Bear
Alan Ruck — Succession
Alexander Skarsgård — Succession

Best Supporting Actress, Television

Elizabeth Debicki — The Crown *WINNER*
Abby Elliott — The Bear
Christina Ricci — Yellowjackets
J. Smith-Cameron — Succession
Meryl Streep — Only Murders in the Building
Hannah Waddingham — Ted Lasso

Best Limited Series, Anthology Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television

Beef *WINNER*
Lessons in Chemistry
Daisy Jones & the Six
All the Light We Cannot See
Fellow Travelers
Fargo

Best Performance by an Actor, Limited Series, Anthology Series or Motion Picture Made for Television

Matt Bomer — Fellow Travelers
Sam Claflin — Daisy Jones & the Six
Jon Hamm — Fargo
Woody Harrelson — White House Plumbers
David Oyelowo — Lawmen: Bass Reeves
Steven Yeun — Beef *WINNER*

Best Performance by an Actress, Limited Series, Anthology Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television

Riley Keough — Daisy Jones & the Six
Brie Larson — Lessons in Chemistry
Elizabeth Olsen — Love and Death
Juno Temple — Fargo
Rachel Weisz — Dead Ringers
Ali Wong — Beef *WINNER*

Best Performance in Stand-Up Comedy or Television

Ricky Gervais — Ricky Gervais: Armageddon *WINNER*
Trevor Noah — Trevor Noah: Where Was I
Chris Rock — Chris Rock: Selective Outrage
Amy Schumer — Amy Schumer: Emergency Contact
Sarah Silverman — Sarah Silverman: Someone You Love
Wanda Sykes — Wanda Sykes: I’m an Entertainer

Andreas Babiolakis has a Masters degree in Film and Photography Preservation and Collections Management from Ryerson University, as well as a Bachelors degree in Cinema Studies from York University. His favourite times of year are the Criterion Collection flash sales and the annual Toronto International Film Festival.

81st Golden Globe Awards: Review and Winners