Woman power to the fore

The Critics` Choice awards turned out to be a memorable night for women of Hollywood. Most of the winners at the star-studded event were shows and movies that were women-centric. Hosted by Olivia Munn, the ceremony, which celebrated film and TV, took place at Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, California.

Shows like Big Little Lies won four awards, while The Handmaid’s Tale took home three trophies. Last year’s blockbuster movie and the first female led superhero movie Wonder Woman won the Best Action Movie and the star of the movie, Gal Gadot, went on to win the prestigious #SeeHer award, which honours actresses for challenging female stereotypes on screen and off.

“I want to share this award with all the women and men who stand for what’s right, standing for those who can’t stand or speak for themselves. I promise that my commitment to all of you is that I will never be silenced. And we will continue to band together to make strides uniting for equality,” shared Gadot.

Critical acclaim

The HBO hit-TV series Big Little Lies, which focuses on a trio of wealthy young women in Monterey, California, and how their lives get shattered when a murder takes place in their idyllic town, unravelling a can of worms, was named the Best Limited Series.

Two of the driving forces of the show Nicole Kidman and Laura Dern won the acting awards for the critically acclaimed series. Nicole Kidman, who won the trophy for ‘Best Actress in a Limited Series’ at the event, paid tribute to her co-stars and explained, “Every actor in this room knows you are only as good as the other actors you work with.”

Guillermo Del Toro’s cold war fantasy The Shape of Water was victorious in four categories, including Best Picture and Best Director win for Del Toro. While accepting the Best Picture award, he could not help but mention the contribution of women that made the movie possible, including Sally Hawkins and Octavia Spencer.

Even in the comedy category, the shows that told stories about women were a force to reckon with.

Fight on

Rachel Brosnahan won best actress in a comedy for her performance in hit-series The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. While accepting her award, Brosnahan noted that even though women aren’t wearing black like most did at the Golden Globe Awards earlier in the week, she said the fight to eradicate sexual harassment continues. But the biggest admiration came from Del Toro, who closed the show by shouting that he has always believed in the equality of women. “Let me tell you one thing, if you don’t do that, you don’t know what you’re missing,” he noted.

As expected, #MeToo movement and #TimesUp movement at Critics` Choice awards was big at the event and host Olivia Munn took a different approach to address the matter by raising a ‘sarcastic toast’ to the ‘good men’ of Hollywood. —ANI

List of winners:

• Best picture: The Shape of Water
• Best actor: Gary Oldman (Darkest Hour)
• Best actress: Frances McDormand (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri) 
• Best supporting actor: Sam Rockwell (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri) 
• Best supporting actress: Allison Janney  (I, Tonya)
• Best young actor/actress: Brooklynn Prince (The Florida Project)
• Best director: Guillermo del Toro (The Shape of Water)
• Best visual effects: War for the Planet of the Apes
• Best animated feature: Coco
• Best action movie: Wonder Woman
• Best comedy: The Big Sick