The consensus from the Rockies was clear: Audiences at the Telluride Film Festival went wild for Wild Horse Nine. Whether waiting in long lines or riding in the gondola, the one film that emerged as the favorite was Martin McDonagh’s black comedy about two CIA agents (expertly played by John Malkovich and Sam Rockwell) who find themselves on Easter Island on a mysterious mission. Yes, sometimes what happens on the mountain stays on the mountain — and Rocky Mountain Fever doesn’t generate enough momentum to sustain through the heated campaign — but there’s little doubt that we’ll be talking about Wild Horse Nine in multiple categories for months.
Read on to see what else we learned at this year’s Telluride Film Festival.
It’s never too early for Oscar buzz
Along with Wild Horse Nine, La Bola Negra and Club Kid were the two top contenders among festivalgoers. Netflix has high hopes for the sweeping drama they acquired out of Cannes, tracing the interconnected lives of three gay men, directed by Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi. Just as it did in France, La Bola Negra won over audiences in Telluride as well. Count Penélope Cruz among one of the season’s overachievers with her supporting performance here, along with The Invite and Bunker.
A24’s Club Kid, another Cannes import, was another crowd favorite — Jordan Firstman’s feature directorial debut charmed audiences with its heartwarming tale about a party promoter who’s forced to change his lifestyle when a 10-year-old son he never knew he had shows up in his life.
While the Best Actor race is already crowded with early contenders — including Matt Damon (The Odyssey) and Ryan Gosling (Project Hail Mary) — John Malkovich (Wild Horse Nine) and Andrew Scott (Elsinore) announced themselves at Telluride. And then there’s Jack O’Connell (Ink) and John Turturro (The Only Living Pickpocket in New York).
The Best Actress race is far more open, but just as last year when Jessie Buckley (Hamnet) emerged from Telluride as the front-runner, Julianne Moore is positioned at the top of the pack for her no-holds-barred, brilliantly gonzo role in The Debut.
Some secrets are worth keeping
In the days leading up to the top-secret “TBA” screening Sunday night, no one was happy. Rumors was flying madly about what the project was, especially as word got out that attendees would have to give up their phones for the duration of the three-hour long film. Expectations were set impossibly high for something that would deliver. And while the sound of yet another Elizabeth Holmes project may induce eye-rolling — even the filmmaker Nathan Fielder himself admitted he thought he’d seen it all — you haven’t seen it all. By inviting the filmmakers into her home, Holmes and her partner, Billy Evans, made a very specific choice to make themselves the story — and further the question of whether she’s truly a master manipulator. That’s a question Fielder and his crew debated as well — which factors heavily into the final product.
And as audiences get to screen and debate the film for themselves, so will voters. The notoriously picky documentary branch will likely have thoughts about this one — so depending on the overall response to the film, there may well be a path for the film in the Best Picture race, not to mention a supporting actress performance (no, not for Holmes, though whether she’s acting is certainly up for debate). A certain A-list actress makes an appearance (best kept under wraps for now), and her performance changes the course of the film.
Stars are born
And while there are the main attractions who grab the headlines, there was also plenty of gondola gossip about scene-stealers in their respective films. Kate O’Flynn has already become a popular favorite among TV fans for Widow’s Bay, and an early favorite to grab an Emmy trophy for her role; she breaks out those dance moves — and so much more — to win over hearts in Mike Leigh’s Tender Loving Care. While John Malkovich and Sam Rockwell’s buddy chemistry is the spark of Wild Horse Nine, Mariana di Girolamo sparkles as one of the women the two befriend during their trip to Easter Island — and more than holds her own against the two veteran actors. And yes, Jordan Firstman is the Club Kid of his film’s title — or is he? Reggie Absolom steals hearts and scenes as the 10-year-old who shows up in his father’s life, as the son he never knew he had.
