The following article contains spoilers for “Disclosure Day.”
In the final moments of Steven Spielberg’s “Disclosure Day,“ the emotionally explosive ending relies entirely on the performance of a newscaster tasked with telling the world about the revelation of alien life. This responsibility isn’t given to Emily Blunt’s Margaret Fairchild, the weather reporter we’ve been following throughout the film, but to Courtney Grace, a relatively unknown actress portraying an NBC Anchor. This breakout performance narrates the film’s climax, as she reacts live while reporting on the breaking video evidence of extraterrestrials. The entire film has been leading to this moment: the human reaction and connection to evidence of alien life. The audience’s emotional response to the ending and the film itself rests entirely on Grace’s shoulders. Even some who don’t love the film have lauded her work and this scene, which makes one think about the kind of single-scene performances that stand tall above their respective films, the kinds that resonate beyond just a blip of buzz. The question is: where does this take Courtney Grace?
“Disclosure Day,“ in a wholly Spielbergian way, is a very sincere film that asks its audience for empathy. In a conflicted world where people are ready to get at each other’s throats, the film asks us in its final word to “listen“ to one another. It brilliantly uses the idea of aliens to remind us that, in such a big world with so many people, we are never alone, and connection is an essential part of living. The empathy Grace displays for the aliens she’s seeing funnels us into feeling the grief along with her. Not that the montage of alien footage isn’t powerful enough, with John Williams’ score brilliantly drumming up our caregiving instincts toward these life forms, but Grace’s reactions really do wonders in connecting us with the oppressed otherworldly species. Her stammering and pauses feel very raw and natural in a film that’s full of intentional artifice and dramatics. The moment goes on for so long and really lets us sit with her as if we were watching a real news report. The way she shifts between her television persona and the real guttural emotions she feels is very powerful, too. It all comes together in an unforgettable performance.
Now with all this praise, mainly bubbling on social media (not to mention the nature of what’s covered here at Next Best Picture), is there any hope Courtney Grace can be brought up at all during the forthcoming awards season? Well, the answer on the surface is pretty clearly “no.” “Disclosure Day“ has proven fairly divisive with audiences and isn’t necessarily acclaimed or enough of a box-office smash to be considered an awards contender. Other than an obligatory Best Original Score name-check nomination for Williams, the film feels pretty dead for any nominations at the Academy Awards. Perhaps critics groups will shout out some technical elements, or even Emily Blunt’s performance, which has received plenty of praise. Still, with the summer release and the cloud of tepid reactions, it could sadly end up pretty absent all season. However, if some groups remember it in categories like Best Actress, Sound, Visual Effects, or even a random Best Picture nod here or there, maybe one or two critics groups can give a cute mention to such a memorable scene in the film, like Grace’s. Anything further than that feels like a reach. Even if “Disclosure Day“ was a full awards contender, considering a newcomer with such short screen time would already be an ask.
However, single-scene or smaller performances, like Grace’s, have a history of recognition at the Academy Awards. In fact, they used to populate the supporting acting categories. Before these two fields were filled with co-leads, meaty villain roles, or notable spouse performances, these types of quick yet effective parts would often get nominated and even win. Beatrice Straight, who won Best Supporting Actress for “Network,“ is a pretty famous example, with only five minutes of screen time, mostly winning for just one scene. Her co-star Ned Beatty also got nominated for six minutes of work – about the same screen time as Judi Dench’s Oscar-winning performance in “Shakespeare in Love.“ More recent nominations include Dench again for her brief screen time in “Belfast“ and Judd Hirsch for his single scene in Spielberg’s last film, “The Fabelmans.“ Now, these obviously differ from Courtney Grace, all being in major Best Picture contenders, not to mention they’re all big stars and Academy darlings. However, both Grace and all these examples epitomize what the supporting categories once represented. Everything here isn’t being brought up to imply Grace has a better or even much of a chance. If anything, the deserved praise for her work highlights why she and performances like hers should be recognized more in the Best Supporting Actress and Actor categories.
The likelier reward we’ll see Courtney Grace get is greater work and opportunities following this buzzy breakout. Perhaps she could even return in a future Spielberg film, this time in a more substantial role, especially if they worked well together on set. In a perfect world, she would get some recognition this very year for what is such a memorable, film-defining performance, but perhaps this is just bias from “Disclosure Day“ fans who think it needs to happen. It’s always exciting to see breakout performances like this, especially in films from someone like Spielberg, who has been discovering fresh talent for over five decades. Whenever we see Grace again, we now know the talent she possesses, and we can be very excited about what she does, whether it’s one scene or as many as we are fortunate to see.
Have you seen “Disclosure Day” yet? If so, what did you think of Courtney Grace’s performance? Do you think she could possibly garner awards buzz? Please let us know in the comments section below and on Next Best Picture’s X account.
