“Atonement” not only that was a bestseller for writer Ian
McEwan, but it also proved a masterwork in its cinematographic adaptation,
leading the Golden Globes nominations this year.
Depicting the story of a young writer who irreversibly
changes the lives of her sister and her sweetheart by accusing him of a crime
he didn’t commit, the story charmed not only its audiences, but also film
critics. “Atonement” received seven nods for the Golden Globe, which will take
place on January 13 in Beverly Hills.
It was shortlisted for the best drama, best dramatic actor
for James McAvoy and best dramatic actress for Keira Knightley, its filmmaker
Joe Wright was nominated for best director. Also the 13-year old Saoirse Ronan
who played the prodigious writer received a nod for best supporting actress,
furthermore “Atonement” drew nominations for best screenplay and musical score.
Usually the Golden Globe played the role of a hint for what
the Oscar shortlists would look like, but the 2008 awards had seven movies to
receive a nod for the drama category, instead of five, which makes it difficult
to guess the nominees for the Oscars.
Among the best drama film contestants we can find the Coen
brothers’ “No Country For No Men,” about a merciless manhunt in Texas, “American
Gangster” starring Denzel Washington, “Eastern promises,” another drama that
tackles a gangster story, “Michael Claydon” starring George Clooney to fix all
the mess and “Great Debaters”, about a championship debate team from a poor,
southern black college early last century.
Nominated in addition were "Eastern Promises", with Viggo
Mortensen, about an Eastern European mafia family in London; and the epic drama
"There Will Be Blood", with Daniel Day-Lewis, a story of the harsh drive for oil
in California in the early 20th century, loosely based on muckraking socialist
writer Upton Sinclair's book, Oil.
Other nominees for best actress went to Cate Blanchett, for
her portrayal of one version of Bob Dylan in I'm Not There, and Angelina Jolie
for A Mighty Heart, where she plays the widow of American journalist Daniel
Pearl who was beheaded by terrorists in Pakistan.
Compared to last year, when British star Helen Mirren (The
Queen) and US
director Martin Scorsese (The Departed) had by this time trumped the critics,
there were few clear favourites this year, and some of the films have yet to be
released before year's end.
Top nominations for musical included the film Hair Spray;
and Tim Burton's version of the Stephen Sondheim musical thriller, Sweeney
Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, with a singing Johnny Depp playing a
convict who returns home to wreak revenge as the town's hair stylist.
The Golden Globes ceremony will be broadcast by NBC, but
there is a strong chance that the writers’ strike to curb the event from taking
place. The six-week strike, which still remains without result, may come as a
sabotage in the long-waited ceremony, however it is unclear what would be the
response of Writers Guild of America West.
The Oscars follow on February 24, and could confront similar problems.
