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Hamnet and One Battle After Another are Globes Best Pictures

Joy for Brazil and surprise win for Rose Byrne

by Jennie Kermode

Jessie Buckley stars as Agnes and Paul Mescal as William Shakespeare in Chloé Zhao’s Hamnet

This year's Golden Globes were full of surprises, producing a mixed bag of results which divided fans around the world. The big winner was One Battle After Another, with four awards, while the hotly tipped Sinners got just two - the Best Box Office Achievement award which some regard as an insult, and the award for Best Score which, with still less sensitivity, was handed out while Paramount took a commercial break, so US audiences never heard Ludwig Göransson's acceptance speech.

Jessie Buckley's performance in Hamnet was met with universal acclaim, but there was widespread surprise at the film being named Best Motion Picture - Drama. Meanwhile Frankenstein, which had five nominations, failed to win a single award, and Sentimental Value, which had eight, won only one.

The biggest cheers of the night were for The Secret Agent, a surprise winner in the Non-English Language category and still more of a surprise in taking Best Performance By A Male Actor In A Motion Picture – Drama for star Wagner Moura. Brazilian fans, who have a particular enthusiasm for awards ceremonies, reacted with delight, partying late into the night. Even the country's president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, was quick to express his joy, stating "Long live Brazilian cinema, which continues to be a source of pride on the world's biggest stages," and wishing the cast long life.

Winning the first award of the night, Best Performance By A Female Actor In A Supporting Role In Any Motion Picture, Teyana Taylor of One Battler After Another dedicated her victory to "the little brown girls watching tonight," encouraging them to reach for their dreams. Overall, the winners were very white, though there was a good deal of Korean excitement about the victory of Kpop Demon Hunters in both the Animated Film and Song categories. Voice actor Ejae spoke emotionally about how she had been turned down for KPop star training because her appearance was judged to be wrong. Now she and her co-stars have formed a real band to promote the soundtrack album, which has gone platinum in the US, so her dream has unexpectedly come true.

There was another dream moment for star Rose Byrne, who was staggered by her Best Actress - Comedy or Musical win for If I Had Legs I'd Kick You, stressing what a small film it was compared to its competitors. "We shot this movie in 25 days for like $8.50," she told the audience, and thanked her brother George for going along as her date before running backstage to Facetime her husband and get hugs from Best Actor - Musical or Comedy winner Timothée Chalamet.

Earlier, guests arrived on the red carpet. Sinners star Wunmi Mosaku looked sensational in a yellow chiffon gown which flattered her pregnancy, Tessa Thompson was in slimline gold sequins with a hint of green, and Selena Gomez appeared to be wearing most of an ostrich. Amanda Seyfried was in shimmering white and Kate Hudson chose a cool metallic blue, while Jennifer Lawrence's dress was almost entirely sheer, decked with delicate, strategically placed flowers which, in an impressive feat of engineering, managed to stay where they were supposed to throughout the night.

Walt Goggins was rocking a classic black tie get-up with a shiny gold shirt, while Timothée Chalamet had a whole new look, ditching his usual skimpy ensembles in favour of a full three piece suit - in black, of course, with shiny brass buttons. Perhaps he needed it, as he was no longer the fans' darling boy, with that role being taken by a surprise guest - KPop idol Joshua Hong. The Seventeen band member wore a sharply tailored black suit, but it was his cheekbones that got all the attention.

Several stars, notably including Mark Ruffalo, wore white badges with the words 'Be Good' in black. These were a reference to Renee Good, who was shot dead by ICE agents ion the previous Wednesday. Although awards ceremonies generally frown on anything that can be construed as a political statement, there was no evidence of that on this occasion. Host Nikki Glaser opened the show by suggesting that Best Editing should go to the team that released the Epstein files.

Those film awards in full:

Best Motion Picture – Drama