'Three Billboards' and 'Big Little Lies' are the top winners of a very different kind of Golden Globes awards

Jan. 7, 2018 9:44 PM PT

The Golden Globes are, by reputation, the loosest, booziest and most decidedly unserious ceremony on Hollywood’s awards season calendar, with the awards themselves quite often the butt of the joke. Hosting the awards in 2016, Ricky Gervais repeatedly savaged them as “meaningless.”

But, in a year that has seen the entertainment industry upended by a wave of sexual harassment scandals, the 75th Golden Globes flipped the script. At Sunday evening’s ceremony, everything — from the black dresses women wore on the red carpet in solidarity to the jokes and speeches to the winners themselves — seemed freighted with meaning.

“It’s 2018 — marijuana is finally allowed and sexual harassment finally isn’t,” show host Seth Meyers said, summing up the sense of change in the air.

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Emilia Clarke

(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

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Kerry Washington

(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

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Tonya Harding, left, and Margot Robbie

(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

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Tracee Ellis Ross

(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

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Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson watch as Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman arrive for the 75th Golden Globe Awards.

(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

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Claire Foy and Matt Smith

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Reese Witherspoon, left, Eva Longoria, Salma Hayek and Ashley Judd

(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

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Kendall Jenner

(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

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Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel

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Loung Ung and Angelina Jolie

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Ava DuVernay

(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

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Sally Hawkins

(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

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Nancy Carell and Steve Carell

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Gwendoline Christie

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Kelly Clarkson

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Actors Natalie Portman, left, America Ferrera and Emma Stone, and former tennis player Billie Jean King, right

(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

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Emilia Clarke, left, Aziz Ansari, Allison Janney

(Left and center, Frazer Harrison / Getty Images | Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

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Nicole Kidman, left, Salma Hayek and Ashley Judd, and Laura Dern

(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times | Jordan Strauss / AP)

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Allison Brie and Dave Franco

(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

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James Franco, left, Dwayne Johnson, Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson

( Jordan Strauss / Associated Press | Valerie Macon / Getty Images | Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

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Catherine Zeta-Jones, left, Chris Hemsworth and Alicia Vikander.

(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times | Associated Press)

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Activist Tarana Burke, left, and actress Michelle Williams

(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

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Mariah Carey, left, Saoirse Ronan and Jessica Chastain

( Frazer Harrison / Getty Images | Jordan Strauss / Associated Press)

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Issa Rae, left, Sarah Paulson and Amanda Peet, and Kit Harington

(Jordan Strauss / Associated Press)

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Laurie Metcalf, left, and Zoe Perry

(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

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Mandy Moore

(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

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Chrissy Metz

(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

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Nick Jonas, left, Alexis Bledel, Ewan McGregor

(Valerie Macon / Getty Images)

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Heidi Klum

(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

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Bob Odenkirk

(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

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Joseph Fiennes

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Amy Poehler, left, and Saru Jayaraman

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Meryl Streep, left, and Ai-jen Poo

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Sebastian Stan

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Tracee Ellis Ross

(Valerie Macon / Getty Images )

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Edgar Ramirez

(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

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Sadie Sink

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Sterling K. Brown

(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

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Noah Schnapp

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Caleb McLaughlin

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Gaten Matarazzo

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Finn Wolfhard

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Yvonne Strahovski

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Alfred Molina, left, Debra Messing and John Goodman

(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

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Bill Pullman

(Frederick M. Brown / Getty Images)

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Sterling K. Brown, left, Reed Morano and Joseph Fiennes

(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times | Getty Images)

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Poppy Jamie and her purse

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Sterling K. Brown and Ryan Bathe

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Simone Garcia Johnson

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Mario Lopez, left, and voice actor Tom McGrath

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Alessandra Mastronardi

(Valerie Macon / AFP/Getty Images)

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Tanika Ray, left, and Renee Bargh

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Laura Marano

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Giuliana Rancic

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Allison Williams

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Laura Marano

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Jane Campion

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Carly Steel

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Missi Pyle

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Al Roker, left, Sheinelle Jones, Natalie Morales and Carson Daly

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Al Roker gets a last-minute touch-up on the red carpet during arrivals at the 75th Golden Globes at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.

(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

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The scene Sunday from the red carpet at the 75th Golden Globes at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.

(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

GOLDEN GLOBES 2018: Full coverage | Winners | Red carpet photos

In what has been one of the most wide open awards seasons in years, the Hollywood Foreign Press Assn. offered little clarity, spreading its love among a handful of top contenders. “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” “Lady Bird” and “The Shape of Water” all took home major prizes, while other critical favorites such as “Dunkirk,” “Get Out,” “Call Me by Your Name” and “The Post” left empty-handed.

Writer-director Martin McDonagh’s darkly hued morality play “Three Billboards,” which drew six nominations, proved the evening’s biggest winner with four wins, including the top prize in the drama category as well as awards for McDonagh’s screenplay and for the performances of Sam Rockwell and Frances McDormand.

Accepting the award for lead actress in a drama for her role as a grieving mother trying to spur the police to solve her daughter’s murder, McDormand captured the undercurrents that ran through the entire evening’s proceedings, as an occasion normally devoted to self-congratulation was dominated instead by thorny issues of sexual misconduct and gender inequality.

“As many of you know, I keep my politics private, but it was really great to be in this room tonight and to be part of a tectonic shift in our industry’s power structure,” she told the crowd. “Trust me, the women in this room tonight are not here for the food. We are here for the work.”

Coming into the evening with four nominations, writer-director Greta Gerwig’s coming-of-age dramedy “Lady Bird” took home the top prize in the comedy or musical category as well as an award for lead actress Saoirse Ronan, who plays a fiercely independent-minded teenager who bristles against what she sees as her stultifying upbringing in Sacramento.

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Cast members Michael Zegen, left, Marin Hinkle, Rachel Brosnahan and Tony Shalhoub with their Golden Globe for television series musical or comedy for “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.”

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Nicole Kidman shows off her award for actress in a limited series or TV movie for “Big Little Lies.”

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Timothée Chalamet, left, Laurie Metcalf, Greta Gerwig and Saoirse Ronan with the award for best motion picture musical or comedy for “Lady Bird.”

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Martin McDonagh, left, Sam Rockwell, Frances McDormand, Graham Broadbent and Peter Czernin celebrate after winning the award for best motion picture drama for “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.” Rockwell and McDormand won acting awards for the film too.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Gary Oldman displays his award for lead actor in a motion picture drama for “Darkest Hour.”

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Frances McDormand, winner for “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.”

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Guillermo del Toro won the film directing prize for “The Shape of Water. “

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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James Franco, left, who won the lead actor in a motion picture musical or comedy prize for “The Disaster Artist,” with his brother Dave Franco.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Laura Dern, left, Nicole Kidman, Zoe Kravitz, Reese Witherspoon and Shailene Woodley pose with the limited series or TV movie Globes for “Big Little Lies.”

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Oprah Winfrey received the Cecil B. DeMille Award.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Aziz Ansari won lead actor in a TV series, musical or comedy, for “Master of None.”

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Actress Diane Kruger and director Fatih Akin with the foreign language film Golden Globe for “In the Fade.”

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Ewan McGregor won lead actor in a limited series or TV movie for “Fargo.”

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Allison Janney shows off her supporting actress award for “I, Tonya.”

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Producer Darla K. Anderson and co-directors Lee Unkrich, center, and Adrian Molina with their animation award for “Coco.”

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Sterling K. Brown shows off his Golden Globe for lead actor in a TV drama for “This Is Us.”

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Benj Pasek, left, and Justin Paul with their original song awards for “This Is Me” from “The Greatest Showman.”

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Rachel Bresnahan with her lead actress in a TV series, musical or comedy for “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.”

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Alexandre Desalt shows off his award for original score for “The Shape of Water.”

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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The cast of “The Handmaid’s Tale” celebrates after the series was named best TV drama.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Elisabeth Moss won the lead actress TV drama award for the “The Handmaid’s Tale.”

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Sam Rockwell displays his award for supporting actor in a film for “Three Billboards Outside Hibbing, Missouri.”

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

MORE: Greta Gerwig on ‘an incredible year for women’ »

Guillermo del Toro’s fantastical fable “The Shape of Water” — a love story between a mute janitor (Sally Hawkins) and an aquatic humanoid creature — led the pack heading into the evening with seven nominations but ended up with just two awards. Alexandre Desplat won for the film’s score while Del Toro took home the director prize in what presenter Natalie Portman pointedly noted was an “all-male” category over McDonagh, Steven Spielberg (“The Post”), Ridley Scott (“All the Money in the World”) and Christopher Nolan (“Dunkirk”).

“Since childhood I’ve been faithful to monsters,” Del Toro said, accepting the award. “I believe they are patron saints of our blissful imperfection.”

When it comes to the Oscars race, the Globes, which are decided by fewer than 100 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Assn., are not considered terribly predictive. And given how unpredictable this year has been, it is difficult to say that the evening delivered any stunning snubs or shocks.

Many, however, likely expected a stronger showing for Spielberg’s Pentagon Papers drama “The Post,” which came into the night with six nominations and carries a timely story of the collision between presidential power and press freedoms. Meyers even did a bit at the top of the evening hinting that the film was a shoo-in for awards, and the camera cut to Spielberg looking sheepish in the audience.

In other film acting categories, Gary Oldman won the lead actor in a drama prize for his turn as Winston Churchill in “Darkest Hour” and seven-time Emmy winner Allison Janney earned her first ever Golden Globe for her supporting turn as the mother of figure skater Tonya Harding in the dark comedy “I, Tonya.” James Franco won the award for lead actor in a comedy for his turn as hapless filmmaker Tommy Wiseau in “The Disaster Artist” — bringing a sunglasses-wearing Wiseau to the stage in one of the evening’s odder moments.

Last year’s Globes, coming in the wake of the 2016 presidential election, saw a shocked and outraged Hollywood turn its collective fire on then-President-elect Trump. But this year, that fire was continuously aimed inward, keeping the spotlight on the industry’s ills.

“There’s a new era underway — and I can tell because it’s been years since a white man was this nervous in Hollywood,” Meyers quipped, adding, “For the male nominees in the room tonight, this is the first time in three months it won’t be terrifying to hear your name read out loud.”

Meyers delivered particularly sharp digs at Kevin Spacey, Woody Allen and Harvey Weinstein, who he predicted “would be the first person ever booed in the In Memoriam.”

On the television side, shows centered on women led the night. HBO’s limited series “Big Little Lies” won four awards, including acting prizes for stars Nicole Kidman, Alexander Skarsgard and Laura Dern, while Amazon’s “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” and Hulu’s “The Handmaid’s Tale” won two awards apiece, including the top prizes, respectively, in the comedy and drama series categories.

In perhaps the evening’s most emotional moment, Oprah Winfrey, accepting the Cecil B. DeMille Award in recognition of her illustrious career, brought the crowd to its feet with a rousing speech that encapsulated the evening’s blend of outrage, inspiration and determination to bring about long-overdue change.

“I want all the girls watching here, now, to know that a new day is on the horizon,” Winfrey said. “And when that new day finally dawns, it will be because of a lot of magnificent women, many of whom are right here in this room tonight, and some pretty phenomenal men, fighting hard to make sure that they become the leaders who take us to the time when nobody ever has to say ‘Me too’ again.”

2018 Golden Globes