Tribeca 2021: "The Novice" proves Isabelle Fuhrman to be anything but

by Jason Adams

You will most assuredly think of the crackling and dangerous worlds of Darren Aronofsky while watching The Novice, Lauren Hadaway's splintering character study by way of electrifying sports drama which finally gives Isabelle Fuhrman (so captivating in 2009's trash-thriller Orphan), a leading role to sink her now adult teeth into. The film, which just premiered at Tribeca and won several awards (including a deserved Best Actress for Fuhrman), is Black Swan sluicing the water, The Wrestler via regatta, Pi by port. It's a mad rashy rush to the finish line, red knuckled and raw with tension, and Fuhrman delivers a bloody true star-turn.

She plays Alex Dall, a college freshman who joins the crew team almost on a lark, and becomes single-mindedly obsessed with making it to the top boat on the varsity team, no matter the cost to her body and mind...

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Almost There: Shelley Duvall in "3 Women"

by Cláudio Alves

The Almost There series' temporary fixation on Cannes-winning performances continues with the incomparable Shelley Duvall. In 1977, when her sixth collaboration with director Robert Altman premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, Duvall took home the much-coveted Best Actress prize from a jury presided by Roberto Rossellini. The picture that earned such golden plaudits was 3 Women, a Bergman-esque exploration of juxtaposed and deconstructed identity that's also one of the best American films of its decade…

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1946: Olivia & Joan's feud goes public

Team Experience is revisiting 1946 in the lead up to this week's Smackdown.

by Baby Clyde

As she triumphantly left the stage of the Shrine Auditorium after winning a long awaited Best Actress Oscar for To Each His Own, Olivia De Havilland was approached by a very familiar figure offering congratulations. 

I don’t know why she does that when she knows how I feel...” 

...Olivia muttered as she turned away from her equally famous sister, the 1941 Best Actress winner Joan Fontaine. Unfortunately for all involved it was captured on camera, which lead to the infamous picture above. It's one of my favourite snapshots in Hollywood history. The look of genuine delight on Joan’s face, the look of pursed lipped distaste on Olivia’s. You could write a book about it; I’ll try and stick to a few hundred words...

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FYC: A conversation about "Mare of Easttown" and the great Kate Winslet

As an FYC for all things Mare of Easttown, Eric and Nathaniel got together for a conversation about what a rich viewing experience the HBO miniseries was. 

ERIC BLUME: Nathaniel, now that Mare of Easttown has wrapped, I'm sure viewers will want to talk about it, least of all because it features Kate Winslet giving one of the greatest performances of her life.  But more on that later.  First, let's talk about overall impressions of the show.  While it certainly has its flaws, one of the things I loved about it the most was its capture of small details in the lives of the characters and the setting.  I spent the first 18 years of my life in Pennsylvania, and the show captures so many of the nuances of PA life.  I loved how everyone was a cousin (cousins are a thing in PA); how people just walked into the front door of the homes of their friends; how everyone has a nickname (Lori is mostly called "Lor"). 

The production design was incredible. Every home, exterior and interior, looks like the house a middle-class Pennsylvania person lives in.  Jean Smart's afghan alone should win that team an Emmy...

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Tribeca 2021: "Lorelei" review

by Jason Adams

It's always a thrill to see fantastically talented supporting actors who don't always get the leading roles they deserve actually get the leading roles they deserve. Director Sabrina Doyle's post-prison drama called Lorelei, which just debuted at Tribeca, gives us a two-fer on that front. It stars Pablo Schreiber (of Orange is the New Black and American Gods) and Jena Malone (of Donnie Darko and The Hunger Games and I could just keep going -- she's a long-time personal fave) as, respectively, the ex-convict looking to set his life straight and the girl he left behind. Lorelei starts out kinda obvious but ultimately ends up swerving, thanks to the sheer willpower of its leads and an openness by its filmmaker to follow an idiosyncratic path alongside them. It veers into far more interesting territory than you might first guess. 

Schreiber and Malone each have enormous screen presence, if not necessarily in the same ways...

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