Oliva Coleman (The Favourite, The Father) continues her recent run of extraordinary performances in Maggie Gyllenhaal’s directorial debut, The Lost Daughter, a movie about the pressures of motherhood. Set in the present day on an unnamed Greek island. Leda (Coleman), a divorced Italian Literature professor from the United States, is on a solo vacation at a lower-level seaside holiday rental managed by the affable and a tad eccentric Lyle (Ed Harris – The Abyss, The Hours). When first meeting Lyle, we think he might be in the movie; you might feel you are in store for another of Harris’s outstanding performances. But, unfortunately, he’s not much of a factor, and I wonder why he even chose to take this role.
Category Archives: Academy Award Nominees
House of Gucci (2021)
I have been hesitant to want to claim that movies are progressively getting worse. However, it’s starting to get to the point where there are only a few outstanding films each year, whereas there would be upward of a dozen in the past. Last year, the best movies were Promising Young Woman and News of the World, two that, while suitable, wouldn’t have even made my Top 10 a decade ago. This year might even be worse. As we enter December, the best movie I’ve seen is a quiet little movie called Blue Bayou, which could get some late Oscar buzz, but it’s unlikely to sneak into the top lists of critics like Sound of Metal did a year ago. Likewise, movies such as The Last Duel, The Eyes of Tammy Faye, and King Richard have had some excellent individual acting performances but have underwhelmed as a whole. The same can be said of Ridley Scott’s (Alien, Black Hawk Down) flat House of Gucci.
King Richard (2021)
Go ahead and now give the Academy Award for Best Lead Actor to Will Smith (Ali, The Pursuit of Happyness). It might not be a far-off assumption as we are on the cusp of Oscar season. I would wait to hedge my bets in Vegas entirely, but it might be worth taking a flyer without knowing much about the other players who might be up for the award. Smith gives the best performance in his storied career as Richard, the father of (then) future tennis greats Venus Williams and Serena Williams in Reinaldo Marcus Green’s (Joe Bell, Monsters and Men) King Richard.
Judas and The Black Messiah (2021)
Of the three best picture Oscar-nominated movies (Mank, The Trial of the Chicago Seven) that have a chance to knock off Nomadland, the odds on favorite to be selected as the year’s best movie, Shaka King’s Judas and the Black Messiah was undoubtedly my favorite. It’s ironic since the other two films have a better chance of earning the night’s biggest prize. But much like the other five nominated pictures, there isn’t anything particularly remarkable about this trio. As a whole, it wasn’t a great year for movies. There were some great acting performances during the year. Judas and the Black Messiah was no exception, earning not one but two nods for Best Supporting Actor.
Promising Young Woman (2020)
The astounding Gone Girl, unfortunately, it is not. The disappointing The Girl on the Train it, fortunately, is not. First-time director Emerald Fennell’s Promising Young Women (intentional or not) is a film that falls somewhere in between, even if that was never an intention or a consideration by anyone else watching the film. I mention comparing the three because 2014’s nearly flawless Gone Girl was this intense, methodical movie based on a novel centered on revenge against a man she felt had wronged her. Then it felt like 2016’s The Girl on the Train was a movie that was rightfully or wrongfully being compared and expected to be as successful as Gone Girl, partially because it was also based on a very successful novel, had an A-list leading actress (Rosamund Pike, Emily Blunt) had an edgy and creepy vibe to it, and ironically had the word “Girl” in the title. Promising Young Woman has elements of both movies. It has an amped-up revenge plot similar to Gone Girl and the mystery detective aspect of The Girl on the Train. You don’t need to watch either of the movies mentioned above to see Promising Young Woman. While there are some aspects of each, this film carries its weight, though it doesn’t hurt to be in the same conversation as two well-known films in the movie community.