The five must-see movies from this year’s batch of Golden Globes nominees

This Sunday, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association will honour some of the year’s best film and television work (and we do mean some — still not over that I May Destroy You snub) by handing out hefty paperweights in the shape of a shiny yellow statuette of planet Earth (hey, it's a big honour, but where do you put it?). 

This year’s Golden Globes, often considered a predictor of the Oscars, will celebrate the productions that kept us sane and entertained during a year of lockdown. If, by chance, you happen to be wondering which of these you should really, really see, we’ve narrowed down the list of film nominees to the five movies you should definitely make time for. 

One Night in Miami

Regina King’s directorial debut had its North American premiere at TIFF last September to glowing reviews — and the Globes took notice. One Night In Miami is up for three awards including Best Director and Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role for Leslie Odom Jr.

The film (based on Kemp Powers' play) imagines an evening in which Sam Cooke, Malcolm X, Jim Brown and Muhammad Ali come together following Ali’s win in a World Heavyweight Championship bout. In a fictionalized account of the night, the story imagines what these four Black cultural icons of the 1960s would have discussed and debated and how they would each push each other to go further and do more for the cause of racial equality and their own legacies. The movie is a testament to the power of storytelling, and worth a watch for Odom Jr.’s Tonight Show performance of Cooke’s "A Change is Gonna Come" alone.  

Nomadland

If film fans don’t already know the name Chloé Zhao, they will soon. Not only has her most recent film garnered high critical praise (and several festival awards already), Zhao just wrapped filming on Marvel’s Eternals, starring Angelina Jolie, Salma Hayek, Kit Harington, Richard Madden, and Kumail Nanjiani. Zhao’s Nomadland will test its mettle in four major Golden Globes categories including Best Director and Best Motion Picture - Drama. Her star, Frances McDormand is also in the running for Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama.

The TIFF People’s Choice Award winner centres on McDormand’s Fern who, after the loss of her steady manufacturing job, drifts between precarious seasonal gigs including one at an Amazon fulfillment centre. Nomadland examines a type of low-income life in an America with little to no health or social safety net, exposing the impossible choices people are forced to make when money runs out. 

Promising Young Woman

The debut of writer/director Emerald Fennell’s Promising Young Woman comes following her turn as Camilla Parker Bowles on The Crown and a role on the Killing Eve writing team. With star Carey Mulligan, Fennell has created a revenge fantasy feature unlike anything that’s come before it. The story follows Mulligan’s Cassie who, having aged out of the acceptable limits of an “aimless searcher” phase, spends her days half-working in a cafe and her nights doling out her signature brand of justice to the deserving. A new relationship initially makes her nocturnal project more complicated until she abandons it altogether for an attempt at a different life. Which is precisely when personal histories step in to lay waste to present gains.

For its uniqueness, indifference to the concept of likeability, and refusal to shy away from the idea that institutions and individuals continue to treat women as disposable, Promising Young Woman has received nods in the Best Motion Picture - Drama, Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama, Best Director, and Best Screenplay categories.

The Trial of the Chicago Seven

While falling short of flawless execution, Aaron Sorkin’s The Trial of the Chicago Seven nonetheless shines a light on the important history of protest movements in America with emphasis on how justice is meted out disproportionately across race and class lines. The Seven, plus Black Panther Party co-founder Bobby Seale, were subjected to violence at the hands of the police, harassment by the FBI, and extreme prejudice by the court system — all for allegedly inciting a riot during anti-Vietnam protests. Crucially, the parallels between the justice system’s treatment of Black communities then and now can be seen in the film’s depiction of the murder of Black Panther Party leader Fred Hampton, in the treatment of Seale, and in the punishment inflicted on the powerless when it is they who are accused of inciting riots and not a former president. The Trial of the Chicago Seven is up for five awards including Best Motion Picture - Drama and Best Director. 

Minari

Despite being the work of an American director, despite its American lead (The Walking Dead’s Steven Yeun), and despite being filmed entirely in… *checks notes*... America, the Globes deemed Minari ineligible for the Best Motion Picture category citing the antiquated rule that 50 per cent of the dialogue must be in English (as if that’s what makes a film “American”).

Instead, this poignant and important film about the immigrant experience is nominated for Best Motion Picture - Foregin Language. Shot in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Minari tells the story of its filmmaker, Lee Isaac Chung, whose Korean-American family moved from California to the rural plains to try to work their own farm. With Minari, Chung skillfully depicts the pursuit of the “American dream” and how heavy that dream can weigh on a fragile family. And while the Globes may impose limits on Minari’s awards night success, remember that last year’s Best Picture Oscar and Best Director Oscar went to Bong Joon Ho and his Parasite. 

BEFORE YOU GO: Regina King to play Shirley Chisholm in new biopic

[video_embed id='2142545']BEFORE YOU GO: Regina King to play Shirley Chisholm in new biopic [/video_embed]