With ‘Lessons in Chemistry’ Brie Larson could add a second Emmy to her awards collection

Jacob Sarkisian
·4 min read
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Brie Larson won the Oscar for Best Actress for “Room” in 2016. Since then she has worked primarily in major franchises — appearing in “Avengers: Endgame” and a handful of other MCU projects as Captain Marvel and in the “Fast and Furious” film series. The actress hasn’t really found a project to show the talent she displayed in her tour de force performance in “Room” until now.

She stars in “Lessons in Chemistry,” the Apple TV+ show 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) noted: “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 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) proclaimed: “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 is a Emmy frontrunner for Best TV Movie/Limited Series Actress. She has already proven to be popular with various awards groups. She was nominated at the Critics Choice Awards, the Golden Globes, and the SAG Awards.

Plus, she is exactly the type of actress Emmy voters like to nominate in this category.

Firstly, she’s a franchise movie star;  this category has included plenty of these types of A-listers, including Jessica Chastain (“George & Tammy”), Elizabeth Olsen (“WandaVision”), Cate Blanchett (“Mrs. America”), Amy Adams (“Sharp Objects”), and Laura Dern (“The Tale”).

Secondly, Oscar winners do well in this category, such as nominees/winners including the aforementioned trio of Chastain, Blanchett, and Dern plus the likes of Kate Winslet (“Mare of Easttown”), Regina King (“Watchmen”), and Patricia Arquette (“Escape at Dannemora”). In fact, in 2017, four of the six nominees were Oscar winners: “Big Little Lies” duo Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon and “Feud: Bette and Joan” pair Jessica Lange and Susan Sarandon.

This would be Larson’s second Emmy nomination overall and first for acting. She won Best Interactive Program in 2020 for “The Messy Truth VR Experience.” Voters will want to reward this fine actress with an acting bid and this is, really, the first chance they’ve had to do so.

Academy members will appreciate an actress of her talent finding her way to a great role like this. Larson hasn’t been involved in many projects outside of the MCU since her Oscar win for “Room” so this is a timely reminder of her talents that voters won’t be able to ignore, while they’ll appreciate that she’s getting back to more grounded territory with this role and show.

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