From the moment this film was screened, critics began to chime in: This was the role Kristen Stewart was born to play. The husky-voiced Kristen plays as the object of affection for her aging (or "aging") actress boss, the gorgeous and initimable Juliette Binoche, in a story that seems meta-aware of each of its leads' roles in Hollywood. The plot appears like this: Binoche's Maria appears in a revival of a play that rose her to prominence twenty years ago, but not in the role that she originally played, which was that of a young ingenue who drives her boss to suicide. Instead, she will return as the older woman, and playing across from her on-stage is the younger Chloe Grace Moretz, a young, bad-tempered star with runny eyeliner and a disdain for press (much like the IRL Stewart). While the on-stage drama plays out, Maria seems to become increasingly reliant on her assistant (Kristen, naturally), whose penchant for tousling her hair and half-smiles makes her role oddly sinister.
The buzz around Clouds Of Sils Maria has been building for ages — and, with films pairing her with heavyweights like Julianne Moore and now Binoche, Kristen is eyeing the awards circuits in earnest. Kristen Stewart, best actress nom?