Sydney Sweeney is Hollywood’s most interesting young movie star and Immaculate proves it

No one does it better than Sydney Sweeney, our most idiosyncratic young movie star. Driving rising fame The White Lotus And Euphoriaher real star turn technically began in late 2023 with the release of Everyone but you, a raunchy throwback rom-com that became a huge blockbuster. Then she starred in the terrible and mocked Mrs. Webbut managed to come out the other side not only unscathed, but with A-list energy, joking about the film’s failure on Saturday evening live just weeks after opening. Her next big win is Spotlessa strange, fascinating and extremely fun new horror film hitting theaters later in March.

Spotless begins with an American nun, Cecilia (Sweeney), transferring to a strange little convent in Italy that specializes in end-of-life care for their fellow sisters in faith. But everything is a little off; there are people walking around in red masks, grumpy sisters who question her actions, and priests who are a little too friendly. After a few short days of difficult care work, Cecilia mysteriously becomes pregnant. Everyone in the monastery proclaims that she bears the second coming of Jesus Christ. Cecilia’s life only gets stranger from then on.

From the beginning, Spotless director Michael Mohan is fully committed to delivering a throwback exploitation film of exorbitant sleaze. There may not be any outright sex in the film, but there are long scenes of nuns bathing in skimpy white dresses, and leering priests lurking around every corner, interrogating Cecilia about her virginal status – only to to verify the purity and truth of their coming. savior of course. Spotless also has more graphic blood, guts and gore than most action films these days. All these little elements are characteristic of the seventies non-ploitationthe horror offshoot specifically centered on the canvas.

The only real break the film makes from its genre roots is in its form: it’s simply a much better made and more beautiful film than most of the films that inspired it. Capturing beautiful moments of eerie symmetry around the monastery, Mohan uses the camera to make Cecilia look and feel completely isolated, especially when her pious colleagues begin to worship her and dress her as a ghostly imitation of Mary. The film is full of atmosphere and carefully paced terror that lingers more than it amplifies, with a plot-heavy ending that never delivers on the film’s conspiratorial promise. The good news is that, in true exploitation fashion, the film’s final moments are eerie, pitch black, and perfect.

While nunsploitation films have cropped up every now and then, the lurid kinds are still exceedingly rare, and certainly not what we consider star vehicles for one of Hollywood’s biggest up-and-coming actresses. And yet Sydney Sweeney goes all in, possesses a prosthetic gestational stomach, ready to be covered from head to toe in blood, and is an absolute star for every second of the film. And it’s all impressively unostentatious. The role requires wide-eyed confusion and terror, and Sweeney plays it without a hint of vanity or desperation, confident enough in her star power not to reveal her character’s strength and competence until absolutely necessary.

Image: Neon

Looking back, interesting but easily overlooked choices are Sweeney’s MO. After her breakout role in HBO’s Euphoriashe starred in Mohan’s previous film, a fun and dirty erotic thriller called The Voyeurs. She played Reality Winner in Max’s Reality, a grittier acting show that felt like a classic made-for-TV movie. Now she’s followed up a popular R-rated romcom with a wildly fun nunsploitation film. It’s the most fascinating career of anyone her age, and she’s absolutely captivating to watch regardless of genre.

While actors like Florence Pugh and Saoirse Ronan have a higher success rate for prestige, Sweeney’s success should not be underestimated. But we need a lot more from our movie stars than just “great acting.” Sometimes all a movie star has to do is be the best part of a dozen movies you’ve enjoyed watching. That’s the kind of movie stardom Sydney Sweeney seems to be aiming for. Sweeney is like a movie star from a completely different era. Instead of the stardom of most actors her age, she seems more interested in following in the footsteps of New Hollywood greats like Susan Sarandon or, if she expectant Barbara remake is one indication, Jane Fonda, who takes on fascinatingly strange roles that often require more than just glamor and drama. And it works.

Spotless is in cinemas from March 22.