As of today, November 12, Fox Searchlight claims two of the year’s most interesting films artistically, both of which world premiered at the Venice Film Fest to great acclaim, back in September.
The two films, vastly different, are also. in my view, frontrunners in the upcoming Oscar season: Guillermo Del Toro’s The Shape of Water and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.
Among many qualities (and novelties), both films offer strong parts for women, and both are original works by visionary directors who place two terrific actresses at their center: Sally Hawkins in Shape of Water and Frances McDormand in Three Billboards.
Not surprisingly, both actresses are accomplished, boasting Oscar-winning (McDormand in Fargo) and/or Oscar-nominated (Hawkins in Shape of Water).
Early awards contender “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” starring Frances McDormand and Woody Harrelson, opened with a strong $102,000 at four locations on Friday, with $290,000 projected for the weekend.
The film follows McDormand as a small town mother who wages war against her local police force after her daughter’s rape and murder goes uninvestigated for several months.