Halftime Report Card on Movies’ Awards Prospects — for Fest and Fall Prizes

Because the 77th Cannes Movie Pageant (Might 14-25) arrives at its midway level, right here is THR government editor of awards Scott Feinberg’s evaluation of the awards prospects — on the Cannes closing ceremony and later within the fall — of the movies which have screened on the fest thus far.

The Two That Popped

One can not know what the particular preferences and priorities of the Greta Gerwig-led major competitors jury are, however one can categorically state that two competitors movies — each of that are so unique and out-there that they should be seen to be believed — have been notably nicely obtained. Each garnered nine-minute standing ovations and rave evaluations, together with explicit reward for his or her main woman.

The primary is The Substance, a body-horror flick from French filmmaker Coralie Fargeat that is perhaps described as Sundown Blvd. meets Freaks, and an instantaneous traditional. Demi Moore, in a gutsy career-best flip that would convey her the fest’s greatest actress prize — and even perhaps the primary Oscar nomination of her profession, if her movie’s U.S. distributor MUBI can put collectively an actual marketing campaign — performs Elisabeth Sparkle, a film star and health guru who begins to be spurned as she ages. Supplied an injection that guarantees to remodel her into “a greater model” of herself, she takes it, and begins to spend each different week as a youthful and extra “fascinating” girl (Margaret Qualley) — however not with out penalties.

The movie balances commentary on sexism and ageism with copious quantities of blood and gore — I imply, sufficient to make David Cronenberg blush — and could be proper up there with 2021 Palme d’Or laureate Titane as one of many pageant’s most darkish and twisted award winners.

After which there’s Emilia Perez, a Spanish-language trans gangster musical (sure, you learn that accurately) from previous Palme d’Or winner Jacques Audiard (2015’s Dheepan), which stars the trans actress Karla Sofia Gascón as a organic male who’s a ruthless cartel chief, Selena Gomez as his spouse and Zoe Saldaña because the pissed off lawyer he recruits to facilitate his secret want: to depart his lifetime of crime and dwell as a lady.

I may see the jury presenting one of the best actress prize to Gascón, which might be a Cannes first for a trans performer; or sharing that prize amongst all the movie’s principal actresses (as was executed with 2006’s Volver and some different movies); or even perhaps doing what the 2013 jury did in awarding the Palme d’Or not solely to a movie (Blue Is the Warmest Coloration) and its filmmaker, but in addition to its main women.

As for fall awards season prospects, the movie will first must discover a U.S. distributor — I do know of a number of which might be , not least due to the movie’s star-power and worldwide attraction — however even as soon as it does, it’s not going to be everybody’s cup of tea.

The Risk

I’d additionally keep watch over Fowl, a coming-of-age story from indie filmmaker Andrea Arnold — a three-time previous winner of Cannes jury prizes — that stars ‘It’ guys Barry Keoghan (Saltburn) and Frank Rogowski (Passages) because the neglectful father and unlikely surrogate father, respectively, of a 12-year-old lady (newcomer Nykiya Adams). Arnold, an auteur’s auteur, is all the time a risk to snag a high Cannes honor. And as we head right into a big-budget/big-studio-heavy awards season, her little fairy story, ought to it land in the appropriate U.S. distributor’s palms, may discover some traction.

The Lengthy Photographs

After the aforementioned movies, there’s a appreciable drop-off in enthusiasm for the remainder of the sector, based on just about each business insider with whom I’ve spoken.

Sorts of Kindness, which reunites Poor Issues filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos, stars Emma Stone, Willem Dafoe and Qualley, and distributor Searchlight (which celebrated its thirtieth birthday on the fest), is a triptych about… nicely, it’s a little bit unclear. The movie remains to be largely participating, thanks particularly to a magnetic efficiency — nicely, performances — by Jesse Plemons. However, whereas Academy members have been prepared to go to some bizarre locations with Lanthimos on Dogtooth (which gained Cannes’ Un Sure Regard prize in 2009), The Lobster, The Favorite and Poor Issues, I believe Sorts of Kindness could wind up alongside his different movies, corresponding to The Killing of a Sacred Deer, as a bit too bizarre for many.

Paul Schrader delivered to the fest Oh, Canada, his first movie in competitors since 1988’s Patty Hearst, which reunites him with Richard Gere 44 years after American Gigolo. Sadly, this adaptation of the 2021 novel Foregone, a couple of dying author who agrees to be interviewed about his life for a documentary, doesn’t fairly work. The person’s life, at the very least as depicted, was not attention-grabbing sufficient to justify the instructed degree of curiosity on the a part of the doc filmmakers or the conceitedness of the topic himself; no one within the solid, which additionally consists of Uma Thurman, Michael Imperioli and Jacob Elordi, is likable; and the entire thing concludes in a fairly anti-climactic approach — all of which can make the movie’s seek for U.S. distribution tougher.

However I think that no movie can have a tougher time discovering a U.S. distributor than Francis Ford Coppola’s long-gestating, self-financed $120 million ardour mission Megalopolis. Sure, the sci-fi/fantasy/crime-drama/love story, which stars Adam Driver, Nathalie Emmanuel and Giancarlo Esposito, acquired a prolonged standing ovation, however that was extra about exhibiting respect for Copola and his distinguished ensemble — which additionally consists of Aubrey Plaza, Laurence Fishburne, Talia Shire and Jon Voight — than love for his movie, which, to many, is meaningless, and has landed at an abysmal 52 % on Rotten Tomatoes’ critics meter.

The Wild Playing cards

It mustn’t go unmentioned that Warner Bros. unveiled on the fest — out of competitors, and due to this fact ineligible for awards — two soon-to-be-released epics, or to make use of their most well-liked nomenclature, “sagas”: George Miller’s action-packed sequel Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (out in America on Might 24) and Kevin Costner’s Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 (June 28), the primary installment of what’s meant to be a four-film collection Westerns.

Miller, in fact, has been making Mad Max movies for 45 years now, none of which have been higher obtained than his final one, 2015’s Mad Max: Fury Highway (which was nominated for 10 Oscars and took dwelling six, all for below-the-line classes), so anticipation for Furiosa was by the roof and comparisons have been inevitable. Sadly, the consensus is that the brand new Anya Taylor-Pleasure/Chris Hemsworth installment, whereas technically good and positive to gross a fortune, just isn’t fairly as much as the extent of Fury Highway, and can face a a lot steeper awards season climb.

As for Horizon, Costner is out on a giant limb: he spent thousands and thousands of his personal cash to finance it, and whether or not or not the primary chapter attracts moviegoers in June, the second chapter is popping out in theaters in August. Up to now, many evaluations haven’t been form, however the truth of the matter is that individuals who have wager towards Costner westerns — from Dances with Wolves to Open Vary to Yellowstone — have virtually all the time misplaced.

The Again Half

Because the fest enters its again half, buzzy titles to keep watch over embrace Anora, Sean Baker’s newest movie associated to intercourse work, which shall be distributed within the U.S. by Neon, the U.S. distributor of the final three Palme d’Or winners (Parasite, Titane and Anatomy of a Fall); Ali Abbasi’s The Apprentice, an origin story, of kinds, about Donald Trump, performed by Sebastian Stan; Paolo Sorrentino’s Italian/French co-production Parthenope, the solid of which incorporates Gary Oldman; and the aforementioned Cronenberg’s The Shrouds, a sci-fi/horror flick starring Vincent Cassel, Diane Kruger and Man Pearce.

And hopefully, there will even be a shock or two!