The Award-Winning Emma Stone Movie Crushing It On Netflix Right Now
Emma Stone is an Academy Award nominee yet again for her work in "Poor Things." It's her fourth acting nomination, and she's actually won once before for "La La Land." However, it would appear Netflix viewers are familiarizing themselves with a different Oscar-nominated Stone performance, with "The Favourite" heating up the most-viewed charts. For the week of January 22 to 28, the period piece was the fifth most-viewed movie on the platform, with 8.7 million hours watched.
"The Favourite" was directed by Yorgos Lanthimos, who also helmed the more recent "Poor Things." Lanthimos and Stone are becoming quite the collaborators together, and it's easy to see why. Both "The Favourite" and "Poor Things" are dark comedies that utilize Stone's wittier sensibilities as well as her dramatic chops to deliver poignant lines of dialogue when needed. Both films also engage in themes of manipulation and female sexuality, with "Poor Things" earning quite a bit of controversy surrounding its sex scenes.
While Stone went home empty-handed for her work in "The Favourite," the movie did earn an Oscar for Olivia Colman for best actress for her role as Queen Anne. There are several Yorgos Lantimos movies to watch if one hasn't seen "Poor Things" yet, with "The Favourite" chiefly among them. It's great to witness the film getting more widely seen after its initial release.
Critics praised Emma Stone's performance in The Favourite
Emma Stone lost the Oscar in 2019 for best supporting actress to Regina King in "If Beale Street Could Talk." There's nothing wrong with losing to an equally dynamic performance, and there's a chance Stone could take home her second Oscar for "Poor Things." However, it appears her primary competition in that category is Lily Gladstone for "Killers of the Flower Moon" this year. Regardless of what happens, Stone has firmly established herself as one of the most talented performers of her generation, able to move deftly between comedic and dramatic performances, sometimes bringing elements of both into the same project.
"The Favourite" is filled with exceptional acting, with Stone, Rachel Weisz, and Olivia Colman all receiving nominations at the 2019 Academy Awards. However, Stone earned a great deal of acclaim, with critics honing in on her work. Petr Navovy of Pajiba called attention to her performance in particular: "Emma Stone gives what is quite simply the performance of her career. Weaponising that easygoing charm and those huge expressive eyes of hers, Stone manages to hoodwink everyone, both onscreen and off." For Time, Stephanie Zacharek wrote, "Stone's Abigail is a captivating, wanton minx —she gets some of the movie's dirtiest, funniest gags, some of them consisting of little more than an astutely arched eyebrow."
From "The Favourite" to "Poor Things," Emma Stone is proving herself to be one of the most versatile actors working today. And it's promising to see "The Favourite" garner more attention on the Netflix charts among far more mainstream fare like "The Super Mario Bros. Movie."