There is something unspeakable about Lily Gladstone. First of all, a gaze that seems to speak for itself, hard but penetrating. Then, a posture, an innate aplomb that already gives him the air of celebrity. The word "star" will undoubtedly be mentioned after the release of Martin Scorsese's next film Killers of the Flower Moon, scheduled for October 18. The American actress who plays the leading female role – her first at these heights – radiates, and suggests that we are witnessing the emergence of a great actress.
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Founding Act
When we see her climb the steps of Cannes, in May 2023, for the world premiere of the film, we think Lily Gladstone is used to such altitudes. However, it wasn't always this way for the 37-year-old actress, who has only starred in sometimes confidential arthouse films, including Arnaud Depleschin's Jimmy P. (Psychotherapy of a Plains Indian) in 2013. It was director Kelly Reichardt who put her foot in the door for good, four years later: in Some Women, Lily Gladstone plays a cowgirl who falls madly in love with a schoolteacher, played by Kristen Stewart. A critical success, the film made her blossom in the eyes of the world and her performance convinced the Hollywood industry. But, due to Covid, a more complicated period begins, during which there are not many projects. So much so that she imagined at that time retraining in a company specializing in the eradication of Asian hornets.
And that was without counting a lucky star by the name of Martin Scorsese. The director was so impressed by the actress that he chose her after a single video conference, in the company of Leonardo DiCaprio: "There was no reading of the script," the latter said in an interview published on September 19 in Vogue UK: "Marty knew right away that Lily was the one." Killers of the Flower Moon tells the little-known story of the Osage tribe who, during the 20s, became extremely wealthy by finding oil on their land in Oklahoma. And a series of mysterious murders suddenly decimate. Leonardo DiCaprio plays Ernest, a rough-hewn American who falls in love with Molly, an Osage played by Lily Gladstone. A character with whom she shares several points in common, which make her interpretation remarkably authentic.
Activist before being an actress
Lily Gladstone spent her early childhood on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation in Montana before moving to Seattle. From this past, she keeps a conviction anchored in her body: she must carry the word of the Amerindians and those left behind. From then on, she fought to ensure that "natives", as they were called on the other side of the Atlantic, were treated better in the cinema and that their culture was not misused or monopolized by the Hollywood industry. She made a point of portraying Native American women with care and respect in Kelly Reichardt's films Certain Women and First Cow: "When you're representing communities and working within them, it's important to develop relationships with them and build real trust together," she told Vogue UK.
The role of Molly Burkhart in Killers of the Flower Moon, an Indian from the Osage tribe who fights for the preservation of her ancestors' lands, is perhaps the one that most resonates with her own personality. The actress, who doesn't hide her fact that she's superstitious, may see this as a sign of fate. Long shunned from filming, partly because she is a Native American – she describes herself as an "atypical actress" – she is finally granted a place in the circle of American actors in vogue for her talent and commitment. In Vogue, Leonardo DiCaprio was also won over: "Lily is absolutely stunning," before adding that she "carries the whole movie." Convincing two sacred monsters of cinema was already not a done deal, but from now on, it is towards other heights that some think Lily Gladstone is capable of going to the first name.
On the road to the Oscars
We often talk about "Oscar movies", those (big) productions - most often Hollywood - calibrated for the ceremony of the same name. The term "performance" is then used for those roles for which the small golden statuette is a more than plausible option. In the United States, for decades people have been having fun betting on this or that actor or actress and the bookmakers seem to be clear for the moment: it is Lily Gladstone who will win next February. She would thus become the first Native American actress to be nominated for the highest consecration. From there to saying that she will succeed Michelle Yeoh, Oscar winner for her role as a demiurge in Everything Everywhere All at Once, there is only one step... that will not yet be crossed. On the other hand, we can say that her career is definitively launched, and she is now overwhelmed by projects, including two films based on the lives of famous Native American singers. At the premiere of Killers of the Flower Moon at the Cannes Film Festival in May, the film's crew received a standing ovation lasting several minutes. Lily Gladstone, on the other hand, burst into tears, as if she finally realized how far she'd come: "My life will never be the same again," she later told Vogue. And all of a sudden, we seem to detect something else in that face that we thought was unfathomable: a sparkle in her eyes, an inner fever, finally ready to explode.
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