Eastern Promises and The Tudors missed out, but Away from Her managed a major win at the 65th annual Golden Globes, which in a glitz-less, speech-free ceremony on Sunday handed its best actress prize to Julie Christie for her turn in the debut feature from Sarah Polley.

The veteran British actress, the favorite going into the awards, edged out Keira Knightley — star of best picture winner Atonement — for her turn as a woman afflicted with Alzheimer’s disease.

Atonement, a drama about the Second World War that led the Globes pack with seven noms, won out over titles including the David Cronenberg thriller Eastern Promises and No Country for Old Men, the Coen Brothers picture which was expected by many to take the top prize.

Promises had three nominations going in, though would-be best actor Viggo Mortensen lost to Daniel Day-Lewis for his role as an oil kingpin in There Will Be Blood, while best original score went to Dario Marianelli for Atonement over longtime Cronenberg collaborator Howard Shore.

The Ireland/Canada copro The Tudors, seen on CBC and Showtime via Peace Arch Entertainment, was up for best dramatic TV series, though that win went to AMC’s Mad Men. Tudors star Jonathan Rhys Meyers was also up for best lead actor, though again the nod went to Mad Men and star Jon Hamm.

The Golden Globes were announced at a press conference in L.A. and broadcast in a one-hour special on NBC. The usual awards gala was cancelled because of the ongoing writers strike, and as a result, domestic rights-holder CTV aired its new series Terminator: The Sarah Conner Chronicles in the Sunday 9 p.m. timeslot instead.

Next up are the Academy Award nominations, set for Jan. 22.