Who Will Win a Golden Globe — and Who Should?
By Brian Truitt
Comedy or musical The Big Short Joy The Martian Spy Trainwreck Will win: The Big Short Should win: The Martian Adam McKay's Big Short has what it needs to win: noteworthy efforts from A-listers Christian Bale, Steve Carell and Brad Pitt, plus enough laughs for the sharp financial disaster film to be considered a comedy. Don't discount Matt Damon's one-liners as The Martian's astronaut stuck in space, though. While more drama than not, director Ridley Scott's effort is light years more deserving than the rest in this field.
Actor, drama Bryan Cranston, Trumbo Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant Michael Fassbender, Steve Jobs Eddie Redmayne, The Danish Girl Will Smith, Concussion Will win/should win: DiCaprio The "Get Leo his first Oscar!" train is rolling and this is just another stop for the actor, who does some of his best work ever as hard-to-kill, bears-be-damned frontiersman Hugh Glass. His win will look even more impressive against a good field, with last year's winner Redmayne coming back with an arguably better performance in Danish Girl and Fassbender nailing the iconically eccentric Jobs.
Actress, drama Cate Blanchett, Carol Brie Larson, Room Rooney Mara, Carol Saoirse Ronan, Brooklyn Alicia Vikander, The Danish Girl Will win: Larson Should win: Ronan There's no bad pick in this bunch, the Globes' most competitive category. Vikander and Mara would have been better off in supporting actress, where they'll likely land at the Oscars. Blanchett will be going for her fourth Globe win, though it's probably Larson's to lose as the embattled single mom of Room. Yet Ronan is simply fantastic as an immigrant torn between her Irish home and a new life in America.
Actor, comedy or musical Christian Bale, The Big Short Steve Carell, The Big Short Matt Damon, The Martian Al Pacino, Danny Collins Mark Ruffalo, Infinitely Polar Bear Will win/should win: Damon Bale and Carell cancel each other out as Big Short's most colorful money men. Look for The Martian's talented star to blast off for his first Globe win as an actor (Damon and Ben Affleck snagged screenplay honors in 1998 for Good Will Hunting), thanks to his sheer charm, likability and ability to grow space potatoes as "super-botanist" Mark Watney.
Actress, comedy or musical Jennifer Lawrence, Joy Melissa McCarthy, Spy Amy Schumer, Trainwreck Maggie Smith, The Lady In the Van Lily Tomlin, Grandma Will win/should win: Lawrence If we're talking pure comedy, McCarthy and Schumer both are good for many laughs as an accidental superspy and a trainwreck of a party girl respectively. Lawrence is a favorite of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association — she has been honored twice previously for Silver Linings Playbook and American Hustle — but the Joy star will hoist this year's trophy for her all-around excellent performance as a fledgling entrepreneur with a crazy home life.
Supporting actor Paul Dano, Love & Mercy Idris Elba, Beasts of No Nation Mark Rylance, Bridge of Spies Michael Shannon, 99 Homes Sylvester Stallone, Creed Will win/should win: Stallone Elba is powerful as Beasts' intimidating warlord and Rylance brings quiet intensity to his Soviet operative in Spies. Still, from seemingly out of nowhere, Stallone turns in his best performance since, well, his Oscar-nominated role in 1976's original Rocky. He's got serious punch and gravitas as an aging Rocky Balboa who's both a mentor to a young up-and-comer and a man fighting the breakdown of his own body.
Supporting actress Jane Fonda, Youth Jennifer Jason Leigh, The Hateful Eight Helen Mirren, Trumbo Alicia Vikander, Ex Machina Kate Winslet, Steve Jobs Will win: Fonda Should win: Leigh This category could go all sorts of ways, so it nicely encapsulates this thus-far-wholly-unpredictable awards season. Any of the women could capture the Globe, though Fonda may have an advantage in terms of body of work and a role, as an old Hollywood icon in Youth, that's made for acceptance speeches. But Leigh is spectacular in her own right as Quentin Tarantino's snarling, singing Hateful fugitive Daisy Domergue.
Director Todd Haynes, Carol Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, The Revenant Tom McCarthy, Spotlight George Miller, Mad Max: Fury Road Ridley Scott, The Martian Will win: Scott Should win: Miller No filmmaker got better performances out of his cast than McCarthy, though none had quite the troublesome row to hoe as Inarritu. That said, the foreign press will likely honor Scott for his feel-good outer space drama, but Miller should get it simply for having the chutzpah to juggle doomsday vehicles and mind-blowing action while never losing sight of the importance of memorable and lasting character work.
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