HOLLYWOOD’S award season was in full swing late Sunday, with Alfonso Cuaron’s Roma — an ode to the director’s childhood in 1970s Mexico City — the big winner at the Critics’ Choice Awards. Roma won trophies for best picture, best foreign-language film, and for both director and cinematography for Cuaron. “This bunch of Mexicans are not as bad as sometimes they are portrayed,” said Cuaron, a reference to President Donald Trump’s hard-line rhetoric on immigration. Roma earlier won two Golden Globes and is a leading contender for an Oscar at the Academy Awards ceremony in February.

Christian Bale, who portrayed former US vice president Dick Cheney in Vice, won awards in the Best Actor and Best Actor in a Comedy categories, while Glenn Close (The Wife) and Lady Gaga (A Star is Born) jointly won in the Best Actress category. Mahershala Ali (Green Book) walked away with a Best Supporting Actor win, while Regina King (If Beale Street Could Talk) won for Best Supporting Actress. Offbeat 18th century royal romp The Favourite, which entered the ceremony with 14 nominations, won the award for Best Acting Ensemble, while its star Olivia Colman won the Best Actress in a Comedy award.

Seen as a barometer for the Oscars, the Critics’ Choice Awards also includes prizes for the best of television. The Americans took the award for Best Drama Series, while The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel took the Best Comedy Series award, with its star Rachel Brosnahan winning in the Best Actress in a Comedy Series category. The annual event is held by the Broadcast Film Critics Association and the Broadcast Television Journalists Association. The Sunday show was hosted by actor Taye Diggs.

Published in Dawn, January 15th, 2019