Odessa A’zion picks her favourite movies of all time
The beating heart of Marty Supreme is arguably Odessa A’zion’s Rachel, the married young woman with whom Timothée Chalamet’s titular character embarks on a tumultuous affair.
In a movie fuelled with fierce determination and a selfish drive for success, she embodies the importance of human connection – of not letting tunnel vision-focused goals get the better of you.
Her role in Josh Safdie’s film has served as her first major movie role, coinciding with a recent turn in Rachel Sennott’s HBO comedy I Love LA as a high-maintenance influencer. It seems like A’zion’s star power is set to continue rising, having made her screen debut in 2011’s Conception alongside her mother, actor Pamela Adlon.
She might be a nepo-baby then, but A’zion is swiftly carving out a space for herself in the industry, clearly capable of a dramatic role like Rachel Mizler as much as she can embody a vapid LA girl like Tallulah Stiel, doused in a hearty serving of humour. The direction she’ll head in next remains uncertain, and if her list of favourite movies is anything to go by, then your guess is as good as mine.
Talking to Letterboxd about her favourites, she began with the beloved comedy Step Brothers starring Will Ferrell and John C Reilly. Released in 2008, the film follows two grown men who unexpectedly become stepbrothers, living together despite the fact that they really should’ve moved out about 20 years prior. It’s certainly that brand of American comedy buoyed by an obnoxious sense of humour that isn’t for everyone, but A’zion loves it.
She then picked two New Hollywood classics, including the dark comedy Harold and Maude, a tender tale of an unusual relationship between a young man obsessed with death and an elderly woman who loves life. They learn from each other, their relationship fundamentally changing them, and you’ll almost certainly walk away from it with a tear in your eye.
Her other New Hollywood pick was Rosemary’s Baby, directed by Roman Polanski. The classic horror film is a mesmerising exploration of femininity and paranoia, with Mia Farrow giving an unforgettable performance as a woman convinced that her neighbours are in a satanic cult, fearing that they have terrifying intentions for her unborn baby. It was a major turning point in the cinematic landscape of psychological horror, slowing building into a paranoia-fuelled nightmare.
On a lighter note, a few child-centric films find a spot on her list, beginning with Steven Spielberg’s classic ET the Extraterrestrial. A charming tale of a boy who finds solace in an alien who just wants to get back home, it’s a nostalgic classic that A’zion adores.
She also picked the animated movie We’re Back: A Dinosaur’s Story, produced by Spielberg, calling it “one of my favourite movies ever,” explaining that she could “watch that over and over again.” Who knows, perhaps A’zion will soon lend her voice to an animated movie?
Finally, she highlighted one of her co-star Chalamet’s greatest films, Call Me By Your Name, which she called a “really, really good movie”, and it makes sense because Luca Guadagnino’s tender coming-of-age film really put Chalamet on the map, exploring a summer romance between a 17-year-old and a 24-year-old man that inevitably leads to heartbreak.
Set in a gorgeous Italian countryside location, the film was widely acclaimed upon its release, earning Chalamet his first Oscar nomination – an accolade he now has a good chance of winning for Marty Supreme.
