These have been interesting times. For the first time ever, the Screen Actor Guild (SAG) awards has a host, in the form of the affable Kristen Bell (Frozen, Bad Moms).
And what’s more impressive is that all 13 awards were handed out by all female presenters, as a follow-up effort from the #TimesUp movement. While actresses wore black at the recently concluded 75th Golden Globe Awards, doing it again this time around would just be more of the same, and the campaign might lose its momentum. But packing its presenters with girl power sends a strong message. After a hormone-charged ceremony, here’s a look at who took home the Actor, and who left empty-handed.
Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Theatrical Motion Picture
The Big Sick
Get Out
Lady Bird
Mudbound
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri – Winner
This comes as no surprise as the winner of four Golden Globe awards took top honours as the best ensemble cast. The movie, with its compelling story, brought out the best in its actors. Additionally, compared to the rest of the nominees, The Martin McDonagh-directed movie involves a bigger principal cast with better dynamics. It would be a surprise if it didn’t win.
Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
Judi Dench, Victoria & Abdul
Sally Hawkins, The Shape of Water
Margot Robbie, I, Tonya
Saoirse Ronan, Lady Bird
Frances McDormand, Three Billboards Outside of Ebbing, Missouri - Winner
Frances McDormand is proving to be a force to be reckoned with this award season. Playing a determined mother who would stop at no cost to bring her daughter’s rapist to justice, she injected raw emotions that resonate with every mother of a lost child. Margot Robbie and Saoirse Ronan are both strong contenders, but McDormand’s pain and resolve that show in her eyes are something honed by a lifetime of experience, which the younger actresses may lack.
Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
Timothee Chalamet, Call Me by Your Name
James Franco, The Disaster Artist
Daniel Kaluuya, Get Out
Denzel Washington, Roman J. Israel, Esq.
Gary Oldman, Darkest Hour – Winner
Gary Oldman’s transformation into Winston Churchill is remarkable, right down the way he puffs his cigars. Faced with stiff competition from a group of strong performances, Oldman, like McDormand, proves that their wealth of experiences put them at the top. Interestingly, while he was missing from the Critics Choice Awards last week where he won the Best Actor award, James Franco made an appearance at the SAG, braving possible backlash. Imagine the reaction from the female crowd during his acceptance speech if he were to be announced the winner.
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role
Steve Carell, Battle of the Sexes
Willem Dafoe, The Florida Project
Woody Harrelson, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Richard Jenkins, The Shape of Water
Sam Rockwell, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri – Winner
After almost three decades in the business, Sam Rockwell finally receives recognition for his work. His role as the dedicated and loyal officer Dixon is likeable, beating even veteran Willem Dafoe’s hotel manager Bobby in The Florida Project. In the upcoming Oscar race, it would be interesting to see which of the two comes out on top.
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role
Mary J. Blige, Mudbound
Hong Chau, Downsizing
Holly Hunter, The Big Sick
Laurie Metcalf, Lady Bird
Allison Janney, I, Tonya - Winner
It’s hard to imagine anyone else winning this apart from Allison Janney. She plays the terrifying tyrant of a mother terrifically. She captured perfectly every nuance and behaviour of LaVona Golden, the eccentric mother who pushes her daughter to the extremes to win top honours in the competitive world of figure skating. While the rest of the nominees were great, Janney was simply greater.
Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture
Baby Driver
Dunkirk
Logan
War for the Planet of the Apes
Wonder Woman - Winner
At long last, the women are finally recognised. Made up of predominantly models, Olympians, sporting stars and the main cast like Gal Gadot, Robin Wright and Connie Nielson, the cast of Wonder Woman’s Amazon warriors are the stunt artists themselves. Out of all the movies nominated in this category, I’m sure the beach scene in Wonder Woman with the fierce Amazon warriors flipping and flying while shooting arrows at the enemies is the only one audiences remember.
Extended Reading: The Women of Wonder Woman
For the success that Lady Bird has gotten at the Golden Globes, it was sadly the opposite for the SAG. Ranking second in nominations, after Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, the ladies of Lady Bird go home empty-handed.
Left out of the ensemble cast category, The Shape of Water also fails to make a ripple at the SAG, with both supporting cast nominees leaving the awards with nothing. If there’s anything that the SAG has shown us, it’s that Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri is the movie to beat at the 90th Academy Awards.
