FRESH from awards triumph at the Golden Globes, Irish dark comedy The Banshees of Inisherin is now being tipped as an Oscars frontrunner.
The film picked up three major prizes for best comedy or musical film, best screenplay and best comedy actor for Colin Farrell.
Steven Spielberg's autobiographical The Fabelmans was another heavy hitter, picking up the award for best drama film.
Making his acceptance speech, Farrell paid an emotional tribute to director Martin McDonagh and co-star Brendan Gleeson.
“Martin McDonagh I owe you so much man,” he said.
“Fourteen years ago you put me working with Brendan Gleeson, my dance partner, and you changed the trajectory of my life forever in ways that I, begrudgingly, will be grateful to you for the rest of my days. To work on this film, I never expect films to work or to find an audience and when they do it’s shocking to me. So I’m so horrified by what’s happened with Banshees over the last couple of months, in a thrilling kind of way."
Addressing Gleeson, he continued: “Brendan, I just, I love you so much. I love that I get to cohabitate this creative space with you every day. All I did when I came to work every day was aspire to be your equal. I’m not saying I even got there but the aspiration kept me going. And I’ll thank you for that for the rest of my days also."
Set during the Irish civil war in the 1920s, the film follows the disastrous breakdown of a relationship between two friends that turns increasingly violent.
Filmed off the west coast of Ireland, Farrell thanked the residents of Inishmore and Achill Island while not forgetting a major co-star - Jenny the donkey.
On winning best screenplay, McDonagh said: “I wrote this film for Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson and their beautiful nuanced performances just blew me out of the water as usual. I love you, as you know, for your brilliance on screen and your kindness off screen and I’ll try not to leave it another 14 years till I do the next one with you.”
Other big winners on the night included Cate Blanchett for her role as celebrated orchestra conductor Lydia Tar and Elvis star Austin Butler.
While Ireland enjoyed the biggest successes of the night, several big British names up for awards all lost out including Dame Emma Thompson, Olivia Colman, Bill Nighy and Daniel Craig.
The largely positive reception for the awards in Los Angeles also marks a comeback as last year's Golden Globes became a "private event" with the organisers, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, heavily criticised over its lack of black members.
::
At a glance: Who won at this year's Golden Globes
Best motion picture - drama
The Fablemans
Best motion picture - musical or comedy
The Banshees of Inisherin
Best actress in a motion picture - drama
Cate Blanchett - Tár
Best actor in a motion picture - drama
Austin Butler - Elvis
Best actress in a motion picture - musical or comedy
Michelle Yeoh - Everything Everywhere All At Once
Best actor in a motion picture - musical or comedy
Colin Farrell - The Banshees of Inisherin
Best director - motion picture
Steven Spielberg - The Fabelmans
Best screenplay - motion picture
Martin McDonagh - The Banshees of Inisherin
