Add these lesser-known Oscar contenders to your queue this Thanksgiving break
The hype is real for upcoming blockbusters “Ralph Breaks the Internet,” the next installment of “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,” “Widows” and “Creed II.” But the anticipation for the next round of Oscar contenders is less than average — so I’d like to call some attention to the ones you may not have heard about. Here are two films you won’t want to miss over Thanksgiving break.
“The Favourite”
Oscar winners Rachel Weisz and Emma Stone — as well as a more low-key but supremely talented Olivia Colman — stars in Yorgos Lanthimos’ “The Favourite,” out on Nov. 23. The film revolves around a queen’s (Colman) right-hand woman (Weisz) who finds herself threatened by the arrival of her cousin (Stone), who is beginning to win the queen’s favor. It promises to be both hilarious and melodramatic and has garnered plenty of praise from critics.
This film is exciting and important due to its leading cast of three women, all of whom the film takes seriously. On the surface, the film has the air of a campy slapstick comedy, but it truly gives the characters depth and emotional stakes.
There is also an element of lesbian representation, as the relationship Stone and Weisz’s characters have with Colman’s is overtly sexual in nature. The setting of 18th century England makes this unconventional and notable, and it’s refreshing for a film not to use this element of sexuality as its central and driving plot point or as an exploitative way to draw in audiences. It is sure to be a “favourite” at next year’s Oscars ceremony (sorry).
“Roma”
Oscar-winning director Alfonso Cuarón’s next film, “Roma,” will be released on Nov. 21. The movie has already received a 99 percent on Rotten Tomatoes and has been enjoyed by its limited audience so far. It centers around a mother of four and two domestic workers who help her while her husband is away for an extended period of time in 1970s Mexico City. It’s shot in a tasteful black and white and promises to be gut-wrenching, beautiful and hopeful all at once, reminiscent of Cuarón’s previous works.
It’s always nice to see films led and driven by women, which continues to be rare. The prestige both of these films are receiving is exciting, and hopefully will help lead the way for future cinematic storytellers who wish to have their female-driven stories taken seriously. The shifting political climate of Hollywood in the midst of the #MeToo movement promises to take women more seriously, and to value them in an industry that has always prioritized problematic, and sometimes predatory, men.
Though I will certainly be seeing “Creed II” this upcoming holiday, I’m more excited for these two films. I believe that seeing these types of movies are more important for the industry and help to teach them that these kinds of stories are well worth the budget.
