BEVERLY HILLS, California (AFP) — British romantic drama "Atonement" won the coveted best picture prize Sunday at a low-key Golden Globes stripped of glamor because of Hollywood writer's strike.
"Atonement," the acclaimed adaptation of Ian McEwan's best-selling novel, also picked up a second award for best original score on a night when the honors were spread evenly among four films that won two awards each.
A threatened actor's boycott in support of striking screenwriters had forced the cancellation of the Globes' traditional red carpet extravaganza and lavish champagne dinner.
That left the awards organisers, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, to announce the winners of this year's 65th Golden Globes in a low-key news conference at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.
Traditionally viewed as a form guide for the Oscars, this year's Globes offered few clues to likely winners at the Academy Awards, which will be handed out in Hollywood on February 24.
No single film emerged as a clear Oscars favorite on Sunday, reflecting what awards season pundits say will be one of the closely contested battles at the Academy Awards for years.
The bleak pre-Globes favorite "No Country For Old Men" missed out on the top prize and was also overlooked in the best director category, where Julian Schnabel pipped film-making brothers Ethan and Joel Coen with "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly."
Schnabel's film -- about a stroke victim who dictates his memoirs by blinking his eyelid -- also won the best foreign language film and could now emerge as a best picture contender at the Oscars.
While "Atonement" topped the list of Globes nominees with seven nods, the film failed to win any of the acting awards for its British stars Keira Knightley and James McAvoy.
But there was success for two British-born acting legends.
Daniel Day-Lewis scooped the best actor in a drama for his potrayal of a ruthless oil prospector in "There Will Be Blood," beating George Clooney, Viggo Mortensen, Denzel Washington as well as McAvoy to the honor.
Day-Lewis's victory was mirrored in the best drama actress category by 66-year-old screen icon Julie Christie, who took the Globe for her performance as a woman suffering from Alzheimer's in "Away From Her."
The film marked Christie's first major screen role for more than a decade, and came 42 years after she was nominated at the Globes for her Oscar-winning turn in "Darling."
Christie's rivals for the award were Cate Blanchett, Jodie Foster, Angelina Jolie, and Knightley for "Atonement."
In the musical categories, Tim Burton's "Sweeney Todd" emerged as the big winner, scooping best musical and earning a first ever acting Globe for its star Johnny Depp.
It was a case of eighth time lucky for "Pirates of the Caribbean" star Depp, who had been nominated at the Globes on seven previous occasions only to come away empty-handed.
French star Marion Cotillard won the award for best actress in a musical or comedy for her portrayal of tragic chanteuse Edith Piaf in "La Vie En Rose."
The 32-year-old's performance in the film has already earned several critical garlands in the United States where she has emerged as a serious contender for Oscar honors.
In the supporting acting categories, Australian star Blanchett picked up the honor for her gender-bending portrayal of Bob Dylan in "I'm Not There" while Spain's Javier Bardem won for his turn as a psychopathic hitman in "No Country for Old Men."
Copyright © 2009 AFP. All rights reserved. More »
