Three women of importance
The first big gongs of the Hollywood awards season will be handed out at tomorrow’s Golden Globes (which Sky TV is broadcasting live on its Vibe channel from 2pm).
Among the heavy hitters from TV shows such as The Marvelous Mrs Maisel and The Assassination of Gianni Versace, and movies such as A Star is Born and The Favourite, are three terrific female performances you may havemissed.
With all due respect to a certain New Zealand politician, Sharp Objects (Neon) is incontrovertible proof that there’s only one Amy Adams. Based on the 2006 debut novel of Gone Girl author Gillian Flynn, the eight-part dark drama sees the Italian-born American actress play troubled Camille Preaker.
A St Louis reporter, she returns to her smalltown roots when editor Frank Curry (Miguel Sandoval) assigns her to cover the murder of two youngwomen in her former stomping ground.
A collaboration between writer Marti Noxon ( UnREAL, Code Black) and Big Little Lies director Jean-Marc Vallee, Sharp Objects is a slow-burning psychological thriller. The worldweary residents of Wind Gap are superbly realised, with everyone a potential suspect.
Meanwhile, in Tully (available on DVD/Blu-ray and streaming sites), Charlize Theron delivers a stunning performance in a role so far removed from her last one in Atomic Blonde it’s mindboggling.
Normally, we talk aboutmale actors transforming their bodies for roles, but here the South African actress gained 23kg to play struggling mother-of-three Marlo.
In this fourth collaboration between Jason Reitman and Diablo Cody ( Juno, Young Adult), Marlo’s life is transformed by the arrival of 26-year-old ‘‘nighty nanny’’ Tully (Mackenzie Davis). Although its depiction of post-natal depression has attracted some criticism, its subtle and understated handling is a revelation, and delivers a greater dramatic impact.
Finally, The Wife (DVD/Blu-ray and streaming sites) could well be the drama that wins Glenn Close a third Golden Globe. She plays Joan Castleman, whose husband is about to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature, but who is harbouring a long-held secret. It is a slow-burning drama that richly rewards the patient viewer.