Awards darling Brie Larson is back for more with ‘Lessons in Chemistry’: ‘Distinctive and committed’
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Brie Larson won the Oscar for Best Actress for “Room” in 2016 before landing the coveted role of Captain Marvel in the MCU. Since then, however, Larson has only really worked in major franchises — appearing in “Avengers: Endgame” and a handful of other MCU projects as well as featuring in the “Fast and Furious” film series. Larson hasn’t really found a project to show the talent she displayed in her tour de force performance in “Room.”
Until now with “Lessons in Chemistry.” The Apply TV+ show, which is streaming now, is based on the novel of the same name by Bonnie Garmus. It follows Larson as Elizabeth Zott, a lab tech and chemist who uses her new job hosting a 1960s TV cooking show to educate housewives on scientific topics. The result is an entertaining period story in which Larson utilizes her distinct energy and impressive range to full effect. Larson injects Elizabeth with intelligence and heart but also zip, determination, and frustration in a well-rounded performance. Critics agree, this is Larson’s best work in a while.
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Alison Herman (Variety) explained: “It is a pleasant surprise to watch Larson craft Elizabeth into a woman more idiosyncratic than a wronged and righteous underdog. Larson’s work here is distinctive and committed without being self-consciously quirky, and a much better use of her oddball, theater-kid energy than when she’s playing a cool, quippy superhero.”
Peter Travers (ABC News) observed: “Brie Larson, an Oscar winner for ‘Room’ and a household name as Captain Marvel, brings heart, soul and fierce determination to the role of Elizabeth Zott, a woman who’s way ahead of her time in fighting her way out of the restrictions of a so-called a man’s world… Larson consistently plays against the sentimentality wired into the script and lets us see Elizabeth in the exhilarating act of inventing herself as a woman who smiles only when she feels like it, refuses to ingratiate herself for fools and never lets up on her drive to pursue her goals against the prevailing notion of the time that a woman’s place is in the home.”
Sophie Butcher (Empire) claimed: “It does work as a chance for Brie Larson to show impressive range within one character, the angles of her face transforming from the stern aloofness of a frustrated lab tech, to the doe-eyed wonder of someone falling in love, to the ragged desperation of a woman whose future has been shaken to the core. Elizabeth is somewhat of a science jargon-babbling, socially inept robot to begin with, but loosens up a lot as time passes and the character develops.”
Larson could be about to hit the awards circuit, then, for the first time since her Best Actress Oscar win for “Room” in 2016. She also won the BAFTA, Critics Choice Award, Golden Globe, and SAG Award on her way to the Oscars podium that year. So, in terms of awards won, she is a seasoned actress. But she’s only really been involved in that one race. This could be her second-ever proper awards campaign and eventually lead to another Emmy bid. Her only Emmy nomination to this date came in 2020 for
Before that, however, she could be in line to earn nominations at the Golden Globe and SAG awards. We’ll go more in-depth into both of those organizations another time but, in general, TV awards love nominating movie stars like Larson. Nicole Kidman won at the Emmys, Critics Choice Awards, Golden Globes, and SAG Awards for her role in “Big Little Lies.” She had previously won the Best Actress Oscar in 2003 for “The Hours,” to go along with four other Oscar nominations. Reese Witherspoon, meanwhile, won the Best Actress Oscar in 2006 for “Walk the Line” before adding another Oscar bid in 2015 for “Wild.” She then picked up Emmy, Critics Choice Award, Golden Globe, and SAG Awards nominations for her roles in two TV shows — “Big Little Lies” and “The Morning Show.” And Olivia Colman is another Oscar winner who has done well on the TV awards circuit. She won Best Actress in 2019 for “The Favourite,” then scored a Critics Choice Award nomination and Emmy, Golden Globe, and SAG wins for “The Crown.” Not only do TV awards like movie stars, they like Oscar winners. Awards breed more awards, and voters, whether it be for film or TV, will not have forgotten Larson’s awards-laden triumph for “Room.”
Plus, actors who have appeared in major franchises like the MCU often tend to do well when they return to smaller-screen work. Mark Ruffalo, who plays the Hulk/Bruce Banner in the MCU and is a frequent co-star of Larson’s, won the Emmy for Best Limited Series/TV Movie Actor in 2020 for “I Know This Much is True.” He also won the Golden Globe and SAG award and was nominated at the Critics Choice Awards. Zendaya also stars in the MCU, as MJ, and she has a great recent awards history after she was nominated for a SAG award and won Emmys, Critics Choice Awards, and a Golden Globe for her work in “Euphoria.” And Oscar Isaac became an out-and-out A-lister thanks to his work in the mammoth “Star Wars” franchise. He later picked up nominations from the Emmys, Golden Globes, and SAG awards for his performance in the TV series “Scenes From a Marriage.” Larson could follow these fellow franchise players into earning some acclaim and awards for her role in a TV series. But for MCU fans… don’t worry, Larson can also currently be seen in the latest Marvel Movie, “The Marvels.”
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