It’s no secret that while performances fromLeonardo DiCaprioandRobert De Nirowere stellar inKillers of the Flower Moon, one of the strongest performances inMartin Scorsese’s most recent movie has to beLily Gladstone.Her performance as Mollie Burkhartwas so good, she is nominated for Best Actress at the Oscars this year. It is an exciting career move for an actress to share billing with such legends as DiCaprio and De Niro, but this is not Gladstone’s first time in an acclaimed film with big-name talent involved.
In 2016, Gladstoneappeared inCertain Women, directed byKelly Reichardt. Reichardt is known for her quiet and powerfully understated films, many of which take place in the West and subversively play with themes relating to that of the American Frontier. This subversive kind of Western story has become increasingly popular in recent years, with fellow filmmakers such asChloé ZhaoandJane Campionfinding great success withNomadlandandThe Power of the Dogrespectively. Reichardt brought togetherLaura Dern,Kristen Stewart, and her frequent collaboratorMichelle WilliamsforCertain Women, an anthology of stories based on a 2009 collection by authorMaile Meloy.
Certain Women
The lives of three women intersect in small-town America, where each is imperfectly blazing a trail.
Who is Lily Gladstone in ‘Certain Women?’
Lily Gladstone portrays Jamie, a rancher in the third and final story segment of the film. Jaime travels into the town of Livingston, Montana where the other stories are set, and finds herself sitting in on a law education class taught by Beth, portrayed byKristen Stewart. Jamie takes a liking to Beth, andthey have an unspoken connection that grows over the course of Jamie’s visitsto Beth’s lectures.There is an ambiguous nature to the relationshipshared between Gladstone and Stewart’s characters in the film, as things go largely unsaid, and it seems Gladstone’s character is more invested in Stewart’s than the other way around. Beth emotionally closes herself off, and the two communicate in a very muted way because there is a lot of hesitation from both parties to allow things to move further than they can handle.
Reichardt’s film shows the complexity of the lives of each woman at the center of these stories through understated tension. These are not experiences that will define their lives forever. High-stakes dramas often depict what the audience accepts as events that are monumental and extremely important in the lives of the characters on screen, butCertain Womenis dealing with real day-to-day life, as many of Reichardt’s films do. Theslice-of-life storytellingdoes not leave much room for Gladstone to have a big explosive moment of Oscar-reel acting, but she proves that she can communicate with her subtle facial expressions and quiet delivery more than many others could do with a loud, showy monologue. Gladstone’s performance is the definitive takeaway from the film.
The third story ofCertain Womencomes to its climactic moment when Jamie drives out to see Beth one last time, knowing she has quit the law education job and will not be returning to Livingston. Beth is unreceptive, and the two part ways after a truncated farewell.Jamie expresses a lot despite saying very littleand tries to play it casual while revealing that, in some sense, her heart is breaking at the end of this meaningful connection she felt. No tears are shed, but it is aquietly devastating momentand empowered entirely by Gladstone’s incredible performance.
Lily Gladstone Calls ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ a “Great American Tragedy”
The highly anticipated new film from Martin Scorsese hits theatres this October.
Lily Gladstone Is One of Many Women Shaping a New Frontier in American Cinema
Receiving critical praise alongside acting talent such as Laura Dern, and working with an acclaimed director like Kelly Reichardt, is a great way to have a breakout role. Her role inCertain Womenwasa huge step toward a leading roleinKillers of the Flower Moon. In Martin Scorsese’s film, Gladstone plays an Osage Nation woman whose family becomes the center of a terrifying and disturbingstring of murders. It portrays the greed and prejudice people had for Native Americans during the early 1900s and Gladstone’s role as the stoic and determined Mollie feels almost spiritually connected to Jamie inCertain Women.
Certain Womendoes not dwell on Gladstone’s ancestry, but centering a story around a queer Indigenous woman means a lot as a form of representation. Through a universal story of longing for a human connection, Gladstone’s role in the film can be recognized and related to by nearly anyone who watches, but it matters especially forthose who feel that they have not been able to see their own communities or identities representedin American films. Similarly, Gladstone ends up being the most compelling aspect ofCertain Womenand proved clearly with her performance why she got so much praise forher role inKillers of the Flower Moon.
Kelly Reichardt has largely focused on telling stories aboutwomen in the American Westthroughout her career. Similarly, the success found in Zhao’s films or Campion’s most recent Oscar-winning work has proved thatthe scope of these kinds of stories has changed a lot in the last few years. A “Western” is no longer simply a tale of a gunslinger’s revenge. Westerns can be about trying to find work in an increasinglyunforgiving economic landscape, queer love,navigating disability, grappling with conventions of gender roles, and so much more. Lily Gladstone is an important inclusion in this new movement and one of many incredibly talented women leading the charge inredefining what the Western genre can be.
Certain Womenis available to stream on Tubi in the U.S.
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