In 2004, Amy Adams quit acting after being fired from a mediocre drama called Dr. Vegas. Before she could leave show business forever, her agent called and said she still had to do one last role to which she was contractually bound.
This small-budget movie premiered at Sundance and plot twist: she wins the jury prize. At the Independent Spirit Awards, she also wins. The Oscars come, she's nominated.
Nowadays, she is a megastar, but if you watch this movie observe her performance closely: it's the performance of someone who thinks it’s their last. Full of untapped talent, she gives this role everything, and the payoff is incredible.
Junebug
Now on Netflix.
Madeleine (Embeth Davidtz) runs a high-brow art gallery in Chicago and has to take a trip to North Carolina to meet with an artist she wants to sign. She uses this opportunity to also meet her husband’s family, who is originally from there.
She is introduced into the small world of rural North Carolina, personified in Ashley (Amy Adams), the wife of her husband’s brother. Ashley is a wide-eyed but good-hearted person who has never left her town and who is in a bad relationship but pregnant with her first child.
Ashley is the true main character of this movie (even if all Adams accolades were for ‘best supporting’ awards). Her joyfulness, her pregnancy, and her interactions with Madeliene are studied closely in this subtle but touching family drama.
📺 On Netflix U.S.; 🍅 rating: 86%
Alternatives you might like
The Spectacular Now on Netflix is a wonderful coming-of-age drama also set in American suburbia. With Miles Teller, Brie Larson, and Shailene Woodley.
Frances Ha with Greta Gerwig and Adam Driver is another excellent understated drama on Netflix. It’s about a 20-something New Yorker as she tries to realize her dream of becoming a dancer. From the same director as Marriage Story.
Talk on Friday,
Bilal
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