First and foremost, we have to discuss wee Jacob Tremblay here:
I CANNOT STAND HOW CUTE HE IS. He looks so dapper! Like such a little grown-up, and such a pro — his hands in his pockets like that, you can see just how he’s going to look when he’s 35. It’s so charming. He is adorable. (He also shared Best Breakthough Actor from the National Board of Review with Beasts of No Nation’s Abraham Attah, who you will see later, and who also looked great, and apparently had to stand on a box to deliver his speech, in which — per Twitter — he said, “The mind of me is so blown!” Hee.) One of the things I like about Brie Larson is that she and Jacob seem to have such a good relationship — which I’m sure was necessary for the success of both of their performances, and she’d know that, but which feels really legitimate and loving. You know, from the outside of it, but still. Kids are honest; you can’t really talk a nine year old into convincingly pretending to like someone for PR, even if he IS a good actor, for this long. A lot of adult actors are not nearly so good with kids, for whatever reason, and her obvious huge affection for him is really endearing.
What is potentially not endearing: This dress. I get it, but I worry that there’s one too many fabrics at play here. You cannot have a delicate floral, AND a lace, AND a shiny houndstooth and hope to marry them in complete harmony. The best you can aim for, I think, is a sort of riotous and brief passion that flames out, but is ultimately unforgettable. We might not quite have gotten there?
[Photo: Getty]
