The Golden Globes set themselves apart from other major awards ceremonies by differentiating between ‘Drama’ and ‘Comedy or Musical’ films in many of the major categories. This year, the divide meant that some of 2013’s major BAFTA and Oscar battles were diffused at the Golden Globes, with Best Picture accolades available for both Lincoln and Les Misérables, and the title of Leading Actress awarded to Jennifer Lawrence for comedy Silver Linings Playbook as well as Jessica Chastain for Zero Dark Thirty. It will be interesting then to see what happens when these movies and their stars are forced to go head to head before the British and American Academies.

Awards bait doesn’t come much better fortified than Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln, and Daniel Day-Lewis, recently triumphant at the Golden Globes, looks a shoo-in for Leading Actor at both ceremonies. Not only is he frighteningly talented  – he bears an eerie resemblance to the historic President that crystallises the illusion of the role in the same way Meryl Streep’s award-winning impersonation as Margaret Thatcher did in The Iron Lady last year. However, Lincoln’s predicted Best Picture win may not prove as obvious a decision for the British Academy as it will in the States. Indeed, even the Golden Globes awarded Best Motion Picture for Drama to this awards season dark horse Argo, Ben Affleck’s political thriller. It’s not unimaginable that the British Academy will let Best Picture go to Les Misérables – based on a musical that’s been playing in the West End for 27 years – by virtue of being home-grown, although a win in the ‘Outstanding British Film’ category looks more likely. Furthermore, the absence of the film’s director, Tom Hooper (whose heavy-handed direction is the film’s biggest weakness) from the Best Director shortlist is not a good sign.

Life of Pi director Ang Lee has a habit of winning the Best Director Oscar even when his films don’t seize the big prize, and he’s a deserving candidate this year for his ingenious cinematic handling of a supposedly ‘unfilmable’ work. His biggest competition comes from Quentin Tarantino for Django Unchained and Kathryn Bigelow with Zero Dark Thirty, although these directors and their films might suffer as a result of the controversy they’ve aroused regarding the slave trade and torture respectively. Alternatively, Ben Affleck might repeat his surprise Golden Globe success and take home another Best Director accolade.

There seems to be no obvious recipient for the Leading Actress Awards this year, so much so that I’m surprised Anne Hathaway’s brief but knock-out turn in Les Misérables did not sneak onto the shortlist (although she’s almost guaranteed a double win for Supporting Actress). Instead, Golden Globe winners Jennifer Lawrence and Jessica Chastain are considered frontrunners. Lawrence is undoubtedly brilliant; she is the driving force behind her good films and singlehandedly makes her bad ones worth a watch, but I’m certain there are meatier roles and more deserved nominations in her future. For this reason alone, my money’s on Chastain.

As for Best Screenplay? This year, it’s anyone’s guess.

Rachel Groocock