Tag: Alex Thompson

Oscar Predictions: Mouse

Coming-of-age drama Mouse premiered way back in February at the Berlin Film Festival and is hitting stateside screens in limited fashion this weekend. It is Kelly O’Sullivan and Alex Thompson’s follow-up to their acclaimed 2024 indie community theater flick Ghostlight. Sophie Okonedo, Katherine Mallen Kupferer, Chloe Coleman, Tara Mallen, Beck Nolan, Iman Vellani, and David Hyde Pierce make up the ensemble.

Like their predecessor, Mouse has connected with critics with a 100% Rotten Tomatoes score and 88 on Metacritic. The IFC release might not get enough exposure to be visible to the Academy. The one potential exception (admittedly a reach) could be Okonedo. Nominated 22 years ago in Supporting Actress for Hotel Rwanda, reviews are calling her performance a stand-out. She’s also received kudos for her lead work in this year’s Clarissa. If critics groups start naming her as their pick for Supporting Actress here, maybe it elevates her moving forward. My Oscar Prediction posts will continue…

Oscar Predictions: Ghostlight

Ghostlight, co-directed by Kelly O’Sullivan and Alex Thompson, was a highlight of this year’s Sundance Film Festival according to numerous critics. The indie drama casts an actual family of aspiring actors as the central characters. Focused on a grieving father pulled into the world of community theater, the cast includes Keith Kupferer, Katherine May Kupferer, and Tara Mallen. They are, respectively, father, daughter, and mother in real life. Dolly De Leon (who likely came close to a Supporting Actress nom for Triangle of Sadness in 2022) is among the costars.

With a 100% Rotten Tomatoes score, IFC Films (who picked up distribution rights after the Utah fest in January) could make a play for awards attention. I don’t know if the film can break through in the way that Coda did back in 2021. Probably not, but you never know if critics groups put it in the conversation a few months down the line. My Oscar Prediction posts will continue…