On the heels of Showtime’s unheralded miniseries The Loudest Voice, Lionsgate and director Jay Roach are diving into the zeitgeist with Bombshell (formerly titled Fair and Balanced). The film details the #MeToo fallout at Fox News and stars three of today’s greatest working actresses. For whatever reason, Bombshell is being mostly ignored by many early Oscar prognosticators.
This despite, well...let’s dive into that teaser shall we?
YES
• An actresssexual’s dream. Charlie Theron, Nicole Kidman, and Margot Robbie in one movie, and here sharing one tension-filled elevator ride. Heavy-hitter cast on display.
• That’s not even to mention the rest of the cast: Allison Janney, Kate McKinnon, Connie Britton, Alice Eve, Ashley Greene, Mark Duplass, Malcolm McDowell, and John Lithgow as Roger Ailes. None of them are really seen here but who cares...that’s a banger of an ensemble.
• Director Jay Roach has proven himself before when it comes to juicily relevant sociopolitical material (Game Change, Recount), even if it was for the small screen.
• “It’s hot in here.” Love the marketing’s wink-wink acknowledgement of how cool it is to have the big three of Theron, Kidman, Robbie acting in the same movie... even in the same shot.
NO
• Roach’s last effort Trumbo may have been a late Oscar surprise in 2016, but the movie itself was no great shakes.
• Zooms. Not a fan of multiple filmmakers commandeering the tired reality-TV/nu-sitcom aesthetic of handheld cameras zooming and panning haphazardly. Adam McKay’s doing it already. Would rather not see Roach copy it for the big screen.
MAYBE SO
• Lionsgate has given it a prime date in December, and while that doesn’t likely spell a Best Picture win (especially given the earlier awards dates this year), it definitely spells awards hopes on behalf of the studio, which might mean something of worth coming our way.
With that cast and a subject matter ripe for cinema at the moment, we're firmly a YES. If it’s good enough, expect Oscar nominations.