"Boyhood" and “The Grand Budapest Hotel” took home the top film honors at the Golden Globes on Sunday evening, proving that diversity and quirkiness are musts for today’s Hollywood scene.
Creativity and uniqueness dominated as characteristics of the winning films, starkly different from the monotony typically expected of the film industry. In a mess of movie theater posters of romantic comedies starring Rachel McAdams, action movies featuring Vin Diesel and Disney fairytales brought to life, very few films appear to bring anything absolutely new to screens. The success of “Boyhood" and “The Grand Budapest Hotel” lay in their simplistic charm by being set apart from the masses.
The monotony of Hollywood’s usual productions has become almost painful to witness: incessant streams of cookie-cutter plots, unfortunate gender generalizations, sequels and basic extensions of Shakespearian plays. The depletion of quality alongside the colossal quantity of movies released each year is unequal.
Media has become so oversaturated in our highly technological society that originality is almost extinct. When films do overcome the lack creativity, audiences take notice. The originality of “Boyhood” and “The Grand Budapest Hotel” ultimately elevated them above the rest.
Richard Linklater’s groundbreaking feat of cinematography impressed crowds through the magic of capturing the singular life of Ellar Coltrane as Mason over the course of twelve years. Viewers were gifted with the subtle aging of Mr. Coltrane as he tackles the endeavors of growing older.
According to Manohla Dargis of The New York Times, ”You may see your own face in those faces, your children’s, too. This kind of identification is familiar, as is the idea that movies preserve time. André Bazin wrote that art emerged from our desire to counter the passage of time and the inevitable decay it brings. But in 'Boyhood,' Mr. Linklater’s masterpiece, he both captures moments in time and relinquishes them as he moves from year to year. He isn’t fighting time but embracing it in all its glorious and agonizingly fleeting beauty.”
As Linklater so eloquently said, “Bottom line is we're all flawed in this world. No one's perfect. I want to dedicate this to parents that are evolving everywhere and families that are just passing through this world and doing their best.” His honest portrayal of familial relations and the pains and joys of growing up in today’s society appealed to audiences everywhere.
“Boyhood” offered a unique perspective nearly unheard of in mainstream media by chronicling the metamorphosis of the actors as they age, grow, learn and live. The movie was awarded best film drama at the Golden Globe Awards.
Wes Anderson’s “The Grand Budapest Hotel” was awarded best picture on Sunday night, surprising many. Through Anderson’s regular colorful charm, the simplistic plot exceedingly more interesting as the characters developed, deepened and became surprisingly relatable.
The New York Times Review of “The Grand Budapest Hotel, “These films fight tyranny with irony, frivolity and unshakable charm. It goes without saying that those are inadequate and perhaps inappropriate weapons against tanks and secret policemen. But even now, with full, bloody hindsight, we can appreciate the lesson that lightheartedness and laughter can oppose the heavy hand of political oppression.”
This unique and different perspective demonstrated Anderson’s depth and impressiveness with his cinematography as amazing feats of not only art but comments on society. The highest honors of the Golden Globe Awards were given to these two deserving films because of the simple fact that they were so inherently different from the hoards of films they were competing with.
The Golden Globes provide a unique platform to raise certain types of film-related art to a level respected by experts and non-experts alike. The Wall Street Journal claims the Golden Globes to be, “With the feeling of an intimate, comedy-filled gathering of A-listers — where, unlike the Oscars, alcohol flows freely — the Globes have surged in popularity in recent years, hitting a 10-year of high of 20.9 million viewers last year. Though still far behind the Oscars, which attracted 43 million viewers in 2014, it is a big promotional vehicle for nominated films and programs in the fractured television landscape.”
The opportunity for films such as “Boyhood” and “The Grand Budapest Hotel” to win such honors at the Golden Globe Awards will pave the way for other creative minds to provide quality, creative, new material to the silver screen. In the masses of movie posters advertising more of the same, it is time for the independent and quirky to soak in the limelight.
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