Oscars 2024: Emma Stone wins ‘Best Actress’ for ‘Poor Things’ performance
Usually, an actor winning a Golden Globe and a Bafta means their Oscars success can’t generally be viewed as an upset, but Emma Stone has nonetheless surprised more than a few people by winning her second Academy Award for ‘Best Actress’.
Lily Gladstone was considered the favourite for her incendiary performance in Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon, although the two powerhouses have been locked in a neck-and-neck battle throughout awards season for two completely different but equally memorable turns.
In the case of Stone’s Bella Baxter in Poor Things, she spent months preparing to play a character that’s essentially a full-grown adult with the child of an infant, one who uses her newfound freedom to take on a world she enters with no idea how to navigate.
Meanwhile, Gladstone blew legends like Robert De Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio clean off the screen with her nuanced, complex portrayal of Mollie Kyle, conveying more in a single glance than any monologue could ever hope to accomplish.
Nonetheless, Stone has lifted her second Oscar for ‘Best Actress’ at the age of only 35 years old, as if any further indicators were needed that the star is one of her generation’s most talented performers.
Stone is pulling double duty this year, too, having also been shortlisted in the ‘Best Picture’ race as a producer of Poor Things, which brings her up to five nominations in total.
It can’t be said that she didn’t deserve it, but the belief heading into the ceremony was that the Oscars was Gladstone’s to lose.
Never Miss A Scene
The Far Out Film Newsletter
All the latest film news from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.