NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� The fallout from the , now past 100 days, has been widespread throughout the film industry. Movies large and small . Sound stages remain shuttered. Adjacent industries
Another effect is that some great performances haven鈥檛 gotten the attention they deserve. For most movies, actors haven鈥檛 been able to promote their work.
As the strike pushes into Hollywood鈥檚 awards season, it鈥檚 increasingly muting the reception for some of the best performances of the year. With so many out of work due to the strike, no one should cry for muzzled Oscar campaigns. But actors deserve the chance to take a much-deserved bow.
Interim agreements have permitted some of the fall鈥檚 standouts 鈥� among them and Cailee Spaeny in 鈥� to hit red carpets and bask in standing ovations. And two of the year鈥檚 biggest hits 鈥� and both likely to be Academy Awards heavyweights 鈥� debuted as actors walked out.
Hopefully, the strike will end in time for some of the stars of upcoming releases to get the attention they deserve, among them Andrew Scott in 鈥淎ll of Us Strangers,鈥� Aunjanue Ellis in 鈥淥rigin,鈥� Emma Stone in 鈥淧oor Things,鈥� Jeffrey Wright in 鈥淎merican Fiction鈥� and Carey Mulligan in 鈥淢aestro.鈥� Negotiations between SAG-AFTRA and the studios
But to give the best performances of September and October a little shine, here are some of the standouts you might have missed during the SAG-AFTRA work stoppage, and where to watch them.
LILY GLADSTONE
boasts some of the best work in years by a pair of longtime Scorsese collaborators in Leonardo DiCaprio (as the easily corrupted Ernest Burkhart) and Robert De Niro (as the venal local power broker William Hale). But this is Lily Gladstone鈥檚 movie. As Mollie Kyle, she鈥檚 the preternaturally calm and graceful presence amid a churning hive of 1920s criminality. Some could fairly wish the film was more given over to Mollie鈥檚 perspective, but Gladstone鈥檚 gentle power in 鈥淜illers of the Flower Moon鈥� doesn鈥檛 need to assert itself. It鈥檚 self-evident. (Currently in theaters)
PAUL GIAMATTI, DA鈥橵INE JOY RANDOLPH, DOMINIC SESSA
Choosing just one performance to isolate in is a fool鈥檚 errand. First, there鈥檚 Paul Giamatti. In his second film with Payne, following 鈥淪ideways,鈥� he plays a curmudgeon instructor at a 1970s boarding school tasked with staying over Christmas break with a handful of students. Sessa, in his first film, is among them. Randolph, the school cook whose son has died in Vietnam, is there, too. Each is stellar in radically different ways but ultimately the same one: They comically and empathetically imbue their characters with humanity. (Playing in theaters)
JAMIE FOXX
Jamie Foxx has a ball playing a flamboyant personal injury lawyer who sounds more like he鈥檚 preaching from the pulpit than cross-examining a witness in Foxx鈥檚 attorney takes a case out of his comfort zone in defending a mild-mannered Mississippi funeral home owner (Tommy Lee Jones) against a corporate chain buying up local businesses. Foxx and Jones prove a surprisingly well-suited duo in this crowd-pleasing, throwback courtroom drama. (Streaming on Amazon Prime Video)
JODIE FOSTER
Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin鈥檚 is first and foremost a showcase for Annette Bening, who gives a tenacious, vanity-free performance as the marathon swimmer But so much of what makes 鈥淣测补诲鈥� a touch more than a conventional sports drama is Jodie Foster鈥檚 supporting turn as Bonnie Stoll, Nyad鈥檚 close friend and trainer. 鈥淣测补诲鈥� is often less about its namesake than how the people in Nyad鈥檚 life respond to her obsessive drive. Foster, a rare presence on movie screens these days, has seemingly only grown more confident and at ease as an actor. (Now streaming on Netflix)
GAEL GARC脥A BERNAL
another sports biopic with a courageous queer protagonist, chronicles the scrappy rise of Mexican American luchador Sa煤l Armendariz, a.k.a. Cassandro. Bernal (鈥淎mores Perros鈥� and 鈥淵 tu mam谩 tambi茅n鈥�) pours himself into the inspirational story of the groundbreaking wrestler. It鈥檚 among Bernal鈥檚 most nimble transformations 鈥� not just physically in the ring but in embodying the sheer joy and undaunted spirit of a natural performer. (Streaming on Amazon Prime Video)
EVE HEWSON
You may have noted Eve Hewson, daughter of Bono, in ensembles like Steven Soderbergh鈥檚 鈥淭he Knick鈥� or in the Irish comedy series 鈥淏ad Sisters.鈥� But John Carney鈥檚 a charming movie about music and rebirth, gives her center stage. Hewson stars as a working-class single mother in Dublin whose online guitar lessons (Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays the instructor) transforms her life and her relationship with her 14-year-old son (Or茅n Kinlan). Just as Carney鈥檚 鈥淥nce鈥� was a breakthrough for Glen Hansard and Mark茅ta Irglov谩, Hewson is a revelation in 鈥淔lora and Son.鈥� (Streaming on Apple TV+)
COLMAN DOMINGO
has long been a powerhouse on screen. (Among many other things, he was the menacing pimp of But George C. Wolfe's a biopic of the civil rights leader Bayard Rustin, gives Domingo the kind of grand, historical platform that can define an actor. The film is set mainly during the run-up to the 1963 March on Washington, which Rustin was the architect of. Rustin was a complicated figure 鈥� a dedicated activist and an openly gay man 鈥� yet Domingo's layered, astute performance captures him fully. (Playing in limited theaters Nov. 3, streams Nov. 17 on Netflix)
AARON PIERRE
Even though Garth Davis鈥� 鈥淔oe鈥� is a bit of a dystopian soup, Aaron Pierre proves an arresting, penetrating presence. The film is led by committed performances by Saoirse Ronan and Paul Mescal, who play a couple living in an old farmhouse in a science-fiction future. But when a mysterious visitor (Pierre) arrives with disquieting news 鈥� Junior (Mescal) is to be sent to a space station 鈥� he becomes a regular, vaguely malevolent houseguest with unclear motives. Not everything quite works in 鈥淔oe鈥� but Pierre is electrically beguiling. (Playing in theaters)
PHOEBE DYNEVOR, ALDEN EHRENREICH
In Chloe Domont's high-finance drama Phoebe Dynevor and Alden Ehrenreich start out lovebirds and end up bitter rivals, but the two actors steadfastly remain equally riveting throughout. The film, about two hedge fund analysts in a secret relationship, puts gender roles through a Wall Street meat grinder. For Dynevor, it's a breakthrough. For Ehrenreich, it's a kind of post-"Solo" comeback. (Streaming on Netflix)
MARSHAWN LYNCH
No, that鈥檚 not a misprint. Marshawn Lynch, the former elite NFL running back known as 鈥淏east Mode,鈥� is tremendous in a small role in Most of the movie 鈥� both chaotically brilliant 鈥� who play high-schoolers who start a quasi Fight Club in a convoluted scheme to bring them closer to their crushes. Lynch plays the teacher who sponsors them. It鈥檚 not just a funny performance but a poignant one for the footballer. Lynch did it, he鈥檚 said, because he had regrets about how he handled his own sister鈥檚 coming out in high school. (Playing in theaters, available for digital rental)
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This story has been updated to correct the spelling of Gael Garc铆a Bernal's first name
Jake Coyle, The Associated Press
