12 Years a Slave went into the 71st Golden Globe Awards on Sunday night with seven nominations but was passed over again and again. That is, until the last award of the evening, and arguably the best of them all. The harrowing portrayal of slavery in America took home the prize for best drama of 2013.
But the evening’s biggest victor was David O Russell’s Abscam-inspired comedy, American Hustle. It won three trophies during the three-hour ceremony that aired on NBC from the Beverly Hilton, including for best musical or comedy, best actress for Amy Adams and best supporting actress for Jennifer Lawrence.
Also performing well at the awards is the AIDS drama Dallas Buyers Club. Matthew McConaughey won his first Golden Globe as lead actor in the film, as did Jared Leto for supporting actor in the film. Cate Blanchett received the best actress in a drama honor for Woody Allen’s Blue Jasmine.
Blanchett paid tribute to Woody Allen, who also received the Cecil B DeMille award for lifetime achievement at the Globe which was accepted on his behalf by Diane Keaton.
Leonardo DiCaprio joked that he never thought he’d win a Golden Globe for a comedy, but that’s just what he did, taking home the trophy for best actor in a musical or comedy film for his role as a hedonistic broker in The Wolf of Wall Street. He praised the film’s director, Martin Scorsese, with whom he’s worked five times, saying, “Thank you for your mentorship.” DiCaprio also commended the other unlikely “comedians” nominated in the category with him, including Christian Bale.
Best director went to Mexican Alfonso Cuaron for spectacular space drama Gravity, starring Sandra Bullock and George Clooney as astronauts stranded in orbit after a space station accident.
Best foreign film went to Italian Paolo Sorrentino’s The Great Beauty, defeating the Cannes-winning Blue is the Warmest Color as well as The Hunt, The Past and The Wind Rises.
Disney’s musical fairy tale adaptation Frozen won the Golden Globe for best animated film, beating The Croods and Despicable Me 2.