One of the season's most anticipated Oscar hopefuls screened this morning for a select group of critics and awards pundits.
I obviously can't tell you what it is — but most of our readers can figure it out. There's a social embargo until the 22nd, and reviews aren't permitted to run until 48 hours before release. So consider this a temperature reading rather than a review.
And the temperature is cold. I started hearing from people almost immediately after the lights came up, and the tenor was consistent. One critic I trust texted me a single word: "yikes." Another called it "puzzling."
More telling than any text message is what happened next. Within the hour, multiple pundits quietly pulled the film from their Best Picture predictions on their respective outlets. The same went for the lead performance, treated all summer as a near-lock for a nomination and, depending on who you asked, a genuine frontrunner for the win.
Worth remembering that this cuts both ways. Much like this film, "One Battle After Another" skipped the fall festivals last year and held its first press screening while TIFF was in full swing — and the response was momentous enough that people began noticing the film was being discussed more in Toronto than anything actually playing there. The playbook here looks similar. The result, so far, does not.
A few caveats. This was one room and one very specific crowd — people who have been marinating in hype for months are liable to punish a film for not being the thing they'd already decided it was. Films have survived worse. That said, not a good start.
The studio almost certainly knows what I know, and must be praying for a better reception next week, when another screening is expected.
The film will star Hugh Jackman, while Hugh Grant and Owen Cooper are circling roles. Jack Thorne, who is red-hot, thanks to his acclaimed Netflix series’ "Adolescence” and “Lord of the Flies,” wrote the script.