You've seen her as a medium who can contact the spirits of the dead. You've seen her as a fearless reporter locked in a battle of wills with a serial killer. You've seen her as a blind witch who receives visions of the future. You've seen her as a two-headed freak. You've seen her as a dead heroin addict. You've seen her as a crusading prosecutor trying the Crime of the Century. Now, you'll see Sarah Paulson as you've never seen her before: as... a normal everyday woman named Amanda? Yes, the trailer for Sarah Paulson's Blue Jay will shock you to the core — before it breaks your heart.
The film premiered earlier in Sept. 2016 at the Toronto International Film Festival, where it received rave reviews for its leading lady. (The Hollywood Reporter referred to her performance as "formidable," while Indiewire praised her "empathetic warmth.") The Emmy winner and Mark Duplass (Togetherness) — the latter of whom also wrote the screenplay — portray two former high school sweethearts who reconnect over one long, bittersweet day after their paths happen to cross in their hometown grocery story. (For those of us not privileged enough to attend TIFF, the movie will be released in theaters on Oct. 7, and it will be available on Netflix shortly after that.)
But you know what else is shocking, other than the sight of seeing Paulson play a woman who doesn't possess supernatural abilities and who's not being haunted by some malevolent dead colonists? The fact that she had time to film this movie at all! Seriously, between her Emmy-nominated role in American Horror Story: Hotel, her Emmy-winning role in The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story, and her current role in American Horror Story: Roanoke… where did she find room in her busy schedule to make a whole movie? Amanda may not be a witch, but Paulson herself sure seems to be.
The actress may be most famous these days for her role on Ryan Murphy TV anthologies — but this is far from Paulson's first feature film, either. She has appeared in a number of movies throughout the years, including the Firefly spinoff Serenity, the cult thriller Martha Marcy May Marlene, the HBO Sarah Palin drama Game Change, and Best Picture winner 12 Years A Slave. Now that Paulson finally has an Emmy under her belt, maybe it's time for her to start actively pursuing that Oscar? Heck, she even has experience onstage; she starred in the 2005 revival of The Glass Menagerie opposite Jessica Lange as her mother and Mr. Robot's Christian Slater as her brother. Could Paulson be on her way to an EGOT?
Anyone who watched her stellar performance as Marcia Clark in ACS — or even just two minutes of her performance as Amanda in the trailer for Blue Jay — knows she's certainly talented enough for it.
