Nicole Kidman Wins Best Actress and Loses Her Beloved Mother in One Overwhelming Moment
In Oscar terms, we’ve gone through an entire movie season in about a week—at least when it comes to the best actress race.
Between the Venice, TellurideAnd Toronto Film FestivalWhat was once considered a wide-open and amorphous field of leading ladies has suddenly become prominent and exciting. Credit Nicole Kidmanexciting but bittersweet Volpi Cup win in Venice tonight. She performance in Baby girl, Halina ReijnHer acclaimed erotic drama is one of the best of her screen career—brave, vulnerable, and wickedly funny. But she was unable to accept the award in person, having just returned to Venice for the closing ceremony when she received some tragic personal news.
“Today I arrived in Venice and learned shortly afterwards that my beautiful and courageous mother, Janelle Ann Kidman, had passed away,” Kidman wrote in a statement, which Reijn read as he accepted the award on her behalf. “I am shocked and have to visit my family, but this award is for her. She shaped me, she guided me, and she made me. I am so grateful to be able to speak her name to all of you through Helena. The collision of art and life is heartbreaking, and my heart is broken.”
While Kidman has stepped out of the public eye to be with her family, she will likely remain on the minds of many voters as the race continues. Let’s start with Telluride, where several potential candidates have solidified their positions as major contenders. There are Saoirse Ronan‘S Boltingdid quite well at Sundance, and first-time campaigners Mikey Madison (Anora) And Karla Sofia Gascon (Emilia Perez), step out of their movie’ Award Launch in Cannes. The Colorado Mountains gave each film a second screening, and both were spectacular—as good, if not better, than their world premieres on land. Ronan was also honored with the Medal of Honor, Telluride’s highest honor for actors, while I’ve heard hundreds were turned away. Anora And Emilia On-demand movies. For those who can find a seat, the movies and shows are very well received.
In Venice, across Kidman Baby girl, Angelina Joliethe power of ‘s Maria released. While the movie critics dividedHer work at the center is undeniable, and this emotional biopic got an even warmer reception in Telluride. With the Oscar winner in Colorado, she’s clearly putting her weight behind this film, and she’s not one to be underestimated—especially since Netflix backed her campaign. (They recently secured a nomination in the category Annette Bening And Ana de Armas, Their films have also received mixed reviews.) In Toronto, I also just saw another premiere in Venice, Walter SallesThat’s so great I’m still here, Where Fernanda Torres simply transcendent like Brazilian human rights activist Eunice Paiva. Sony Classics is handling that film, BoltingAnd Next door—with a lovely Julianne Moore running at the top—so they have their hands full. But any discussion of this race without Torres is, in my opinion, an incomplete discussion—and in the age of a globalized academy, this deserves serious consideration.
On Friday night, Toronto then introduced two intriguing, if less obvious, names to the roster. Screening opposite each other, Mike Leigh‘S The Harsh Truth And John Crowley‘S We live in time offer completely opposite experiences—the former is a gritty, intimate, uncompromising character study, and the latter is a tragic tale packaged in a classical style. However, in the former, Marianne Jean-Baptiste It was great, reuniting with the director behind the film that earned her an Oscar nomination, Secrets and lies. Her role here is even richer, though less widely known. We live in timeMeanwhile, there’s certainly no question about that—who wouldn’t want to cry along? Florence Pugh And Andrew GarfieldPugh’s tragic love story? But while Pugh gives another harrowing, big performance as a young woman facing death, A24 will have to work to position the film in a way that voters will see as more than a typical tragicomedy.
