Big Little Lies repeated its Emmy’s haul at last night’s Golden Globes, again winning Best Limited Series and all but one of the main awards within the category, taking home Best Actress for Nicole Kidman, Best Supporting Actress for Laura Dern, and Best Supporting Actor for Alexander Skarsgard.
The hit HBO show is an adaptation of Liane Moriarty’s bestselling book about marriage, motherhood and murder in upper-middle-class suburbia, but last night its themes of (spoiler alert) standing up to abuse became a metaphor for what’s happening in post-Weinstein and #metoo Hollywood at the moment.
As Kidman said after collecting her fourth Golden Globe, for her role as an abused wife, “This character that I played represents something that is the centre of our conversation right now: abuse. I do believe and I hope that we can elicit change through the stories we tell and the way we tell them. Let’s keep the conversation alive.”
Similarly, her fellow executive producer and co-star Witherspoon said in her speech, “This show is so much about the life we present to the world, that can be very different than the life we live behind closed doors. So I want to thank everyone who broke their silence this year and spoke up about abuse and harassment; you are so brave. Hopefully shows like this – more will be made. So people out there who are feeling silenced by harassment, discrimination, and abuse – time is up. We see you, we hear you. And we will tell your stories.”
Dern won for her role as a mother who is “terrified because her little girl was being abused and bullied, and she was too afraid to speak up.”
She urged parents to encourage their children to speak up. “Many of us were taught not to tattle. It was a culture of silencing and that was normalised. I urge all of us to not only support survivors and bystanders who are brave enough to tell their truth but to promote restorative justice. May we also please protect and employ them. May we teach our children that speaking out without the fear of retribution is our culture’s new North Star.”
Female-driven narratives were the night’s big winners: in addition to Big Little Lies dominating the mini-series category, The Handmaid’s Tale won Best Drama Series, The Marvelous Mrs Maisel Best Musical or Comedy Series, Lady Bird Best Musical or Comedy Film, and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri winning Best Drama Film.
HBO has renewed Big Little Lies for a second season due in 2019, which will be directed by Oscar, BAFTA and four-time Cannes winner Andrea Arnold (Fish Tank, Red Road, American Honey, Transparent).
Big Little Lies is available to binge on Showmax, while season three of the night’s only other limited series winner, Fargo, comes to Showmax this Thursday. Ewan McGregor won Best Actor in a Limited Series for his dual role in Fargo as probation officer Emmit Stussy and his brother Ray, the “Parking Lot King Of Minnesota.”
The Handmaid’s Tale, which also won Best Actress for Elisabeth Moss, is coming soon to Showmax, while other Golden Globe nominees already on Showmax include Game of Thrones, Mr Robot, The Deuce and The Young Pope. Earlier seasons of 2018 nominees Black-ish, Ray Donovan, Shameless and Top of the Lake are also on Showmax, with Top of the Lake: China Girl coming to Showmax in March 2018.
Read the full winners list for the 75th Golden Globe Awards.
