52 Films by Women Vol 6. 15. ETERNALS (Director: Chloé Zhao)
Before she started shooting Eternals in July 2019, Chlo é Zhao was just another indie director given her first chance to helm a big budget movie, with only two completed features to her name, Songs My Brothers Taught Me and The Rider , and a film, Nomadland , in post-production. By the time Eternals was released in November 2021, she was only the second woman to win an American Academy Award as Best Director for her road movie starring Frances McDormand. Zhao shouldn’t be judged against her Academy Award success for her fourth film; it is what she does afterwards that will prove significant. It is fair to say that she will never have another film as widely seen as Eternals, as it represents Marvel Studios’ latest attempt to extend its Cinematic Universe. It is also fair to say that after its initial splash ($71 million opening weekend, domestic), Eternals won’t be too fondly remembered, being a little too hectoring in tone, a little too much, ‘we must save the humans’. For...