--- description: On behalf of all movie critics, I say: You now have our permission — indeed, the sacred obligation — to see Slumdog Millionaire, Milk, Doubt,... title: Awards Fever: Film Critics vs. the Golden Globes image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7849f760e5c1bc6a/698a4afde6e84a18492b1ae5/360_golden_globe_1211.jpg?branch=production&width=750&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) # Awards Fever: Film Critics vs. the Golden Globes by [Richard Corliss](/author/richard-corliss/) Dec 11, 2008 5:00 AM CUT  Brad Pitt, left, as Benjamin Button and Cate Blanchett, right, as Daisy in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Brad Pitt, left, as Benjamin Button and Cate Blanchett, right, as Daisy in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.Merrick Morton / Paramount by [Richard Corliss](/author/richard-corliss/) Dec 11, 2008 5:00 AM CUT On behalf of all movie critics, I say: You now have our permission — indeed, the sacred obligation — to see [_Slumdog Millionaire_](http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1858512,00.html "undefined"), [_Milk_](http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1862492,00.html "undefined"), Doubt, Gran Torino and _The Curious Case of Benjamin Button_ and to catch up with [_Rachel Getting Married_](http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1846818,00.html "undefined") and _Happy-Go-Lucky_. It’s movie awards season, that early-December period when the elves and gnomes of the critics groups assemble — weeks before some of the pictures they’re honoring are released — to stuff stockings with their favorite films and performances. The past week has seen winners named by four critics’ groups: the National Board of Review, plus reviewers’ guilds in New York, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. This morning the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, a rather different species of bird, announced its nominations for [the Golden Globes](http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1865377,00.html "undefined"), the televised gala it will host on Jan. 11\. (Last year’s bash was canceled because of the writers’ strike.) What’s in it for you, the moviegoer? First, of course, an informed early line on the Academy Award nominations, due out Jan. 22, and hints of who might win on Oscar Night, Feb. 22\. And, second, [a handy guide](http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1861836%5F1861834,00.html "undefined") on what movies you should see — or at least, the films you should feel guilty about missing — in these recession days when you used to do your Christmas shopping. Virtually all the films named or nominated have either just opened or will do so later this month. ([See TIME’s Top 10 Movies of 2008](http://www.time.com/time/specials/2008/top10/article/0,30583,1855948%5F1863826,00.html "undefined")) Movie critics by nature are solitary, mulish creatures, addicted to individuality, holding to their own recalcitrant opinions. The awards they give en masse are an annual attempt at consensus. Audiences thus have the rare opportunity to be guided by the collective will of the “experts,” not by the blurbs in a movie ad. Heed the wisdom of the majority! For best film, _Slumdog_ was the choice of the NBR and the D.C. crowd, _Milk_ in New York and, in L.A., Pixar’s summer hit [_WALL-E_](http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1813964,00.html "undefined") (which won for Animated film in the other groups). Best directors were David Fincher for _Benjamin Button_ (NBR), Danny Boyle for _Slumdog_ (D.C. and L.A.) and Mike Leigh for _Happy-Go-Lucky_ (New York). Screenplay prizes were allotted to _Slumdog, Benjamin Button, Happy-Go-Lucky, Rachel Getting Married_ and _Gran Torino_. Art-house habituées may wish to know that _Man on Wire_ was judged best documentary by all four groups (the only clean sweep), and that the best foreign-language films were _Mongol_ (NBR), the Swedish vampire drama _Let the Right One In_ (D.C.), the Chinese _Still Life_ (L.A.) and the Romanian abortion movie _4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days_ (New York). As best actor, New York and L.A. named Sean Penn for _Milk_; the NBR cited Clint Eastwood for _Gran Torino_, and D.C. pinned Mickey Rourke for _The Wrestler_. Best actress: Sally Hawkins in _Happy-Go-Lucky_ (New York and L.A.), Meryl Streep in _Doubt_ and Anne Hathaway in _Rachel_. Supporting actor: Heath Ledger, [_The Dark Knight_](http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1821365,00.html "undefined") (L.A. and D.C.) and Josh Brolin, _Milk_ (New York and NBR). Supporting actress: Penelope Cruz as the passionate painter in _Vicky Cristina Barcelona_ (NBR, New York, L.A.) and Rosemarie DeWitt as Rachel in _Rachel_ (D.C.). As in any political process, the voting often rewards not the films that appealed to the most people, but the ones that managed to annoy the fewest. At the New York gathering, for example, the tug of wills on early ballots for best film was between _Slumdog_ and _Rachel_; each had strong adherents and, it turned out, strong detractors. By the fourth ballot, a winner had emerged: _Milk_, which, for many members, was the least objectionable film in the bunch. Who could cavil at the choice of a quality bio-pic about a slain gay activist? The HFPA could. The Globers pulled a Prop. 8 on _Milk_, ignoring it for best picture and supporting actor; only Penn was cited. The Globes list did include all the actors the critics groups honored, except for DeWitt. As for the more specialized prizes of Best Documentary, First Feature and Cinematography, the Foreign Pressers couldn’t be bothered. That’s just part of what separates them from the other critics confabs. **Critics vs. Party Hosts** Members of the New York, L.A. and D.C. groups are actual movie critics, the employees of local (and a few national) newspapers and magazines — which means they should probably be petitioning Congress for a bailout. (“Senator, if we don’t get money and job security right now, it could have a disastrous impact on American blurb-writing. Adjectives like _riveting, blistering_ and unforgettable, not to mention all our cherished W’s — warm, winsome, winning, wonderful — could simply _disappear_. And all that prose is produced right here in the U.S. of A.!”) The resumés of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association are a little more obscure. Few make a full-time living as movie critics for their international publications; most are showbiz reporters, celebrity hawks, gossip paragraphists. Legend had it that in the Association’s early days, some HFPA members were only vagrantly attached to news organs, and that once a year they’d get to host a party for the movie stars whose hair they’d dressed or cars they’d parked. Whatever the journalistic provenance of the HFPA members, their ability to commandeer a Sunday night on a major television network (all right, a once-major network: NBC) made the Golden Globe dinner the starriest show around. And that luster helped legitimize the awards and their selectors. ([See TIME’s list of the top 100 films](http://www.time.com/time/2005/100movies/ "undefined")) It’s also clear that the tastes of the HFPA are those of official Hollywood. The films they nominated this year reflect the taste of the movie elite and their publicists. These are the pictures the industry wants to be remembered by. Until now, you hadn’t seen Kate Winslet’s name in this story, because she didn’t win any of the critics’ awards. (Though some magazine reviewer named her [Best Actress of 2008](http://www.time.com/time/specials/2008/top10/article/0,30583,1855948%5F1864351,00.html "undefined").) Well, she snagged a Globe nomination for Actress – Drama in _Revolutionary Road_ and Supporting Actress in her other December drama, _The Reader_; both were among the five finalists for Best Motion Picture – Drama. The others were _Slumdog, Benjamin Button_ and one film, _Frost/Nixon_, that didn’t figure prominently in the critics’ fancies. (_Doubt_ was aced out of a Best Drama nod, but did earn nominations for all four principal actors: Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams and — woo hoo! — Viola Davis.) To pad their nominations, the Globes breaks movies and lead performances into drama (where most of the serious contenders reside) and comedy or musical. For Globe-watchers, that’s the fun part. How to find five comedies? This year the wild card was _In Bruges_, the madly violent crime farce from Anglo-Irish playwright Martin McDonagh. The critics groups paid the movie no mind, but it and its stars, Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson got Globe nominations. The Comedy or Musical category is also the consolation spot for actors nudged out of the more competitive Drama department; so James Franco, surely worthy of a Supporting Actor citation as Harvey Milk’s lover and friend, instead was a Comedy finalist as the dope dealer in the Judd Apatow-produced _Pineapple Express_. In fact, the scent of weed was redolent among Globe finalists. Robert Downey, Jr., who might have been named for his starring role in _Iron Man_ — except that the HFPA, like the other critics groups, has an unwritten rule outlawing blockbuster action pictures — found a place in Supporting Actor, as the doped-out, blackfaced Method actor in _Tropic Thunder_ (also from the Apatow factory). He was joined in that category by another _Thunder_ actor, Tom Cruise. He does a splendidly sulfurous comic turn as a movie studio exec; but, as the Globe committee hardly needs to be reminded, he’s also Tom Cruise. ([See TIME’s Top 10 Tom Cruise Roles](http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1841976%5F1842091,00.html "undefined")) That’s how the Foreign Press Association member do things. For its Best Original Song – Motion Picture slot, they rounded up five folks not primarily associated with movie songwriting: [Clint Eastwood](http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1812972,00.html "undefined"), Miley Cyrus, Beyoncé, Peter Gabriel and Bruce Springsteen. Critics in other groups may scratch their heads at the inclusion of this category, and especially of this year’s honorees. The HFPA just sees it as another way to put famous fannies. The real critics groups have the freedom to honor their preferred films, whether hits or cult items; but the Globers have a sterner agenda. What matters to them is not what movies win but who’s in the audience, and the roll call of nominations is their list for a fabulous party. [TIME’s postcards from the Venice Film Festival](http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1838333%5F1838342,00.html "undefined") [TIME’s Top 10 Posthumous Film Roles](http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1857192%5F1857227,00.html "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/archive/6909516/awards-fever-film-critics-vs-the-golden-globes/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/archive/6909516/awards-fever-film-critics-vs-the-golden-globes/"},"headline":"Awards Fever: Film Critics vs. the Golden Globes","datePublished":"2008-12-11T05:00:00.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-22T15:47:41.097Z","description":"On behalf of all movie critics, I say: You now have our permission — indeed, the sacred obligation — to see Slumdog Millionaire, Milk, Doubt,...","url":"https://time.com/archive/6909516/awards-fever-film-critics-vs-the-golden-globes/","keywords":[],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7849f760e5c1bc6a/698a4afde6e84a18492b1ae5/360_golden_globe_1211.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Richard Corliss","url":"https://time.com/author/richard-corliss/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7849f760e5c1bc6a/698a4afde6e84a18492b1ae5/360_golden_globe_1211.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"360_golden_globe_1211.jpg","caption":"Brad Pitt, left, as Benjamin Button and Cate Blanchett, right, as Daisy in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.","creditText":"Merrick Morton / Paramount","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/archive/6909516/awards-fever-film-critics-vs-the-golden-globes/","name":"Awards Fever: Film Critics vs. the Golden Globes"}}]}] ```