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The
film sees three people thrown together at a New England boarding
school during the Christmas holidays in 1970. Randolph plays
school cook Mary Lamb, who is grieving the death of her son in
Vietnam, and she is joined by a cranky teacher played by Paul
Giamatti and a trouble-making student, played by Dominic Sessa.
It was no easy feat to portray the grief of a character that
struggled to celebrate the holidays in the wake of an enormous
loss.
"I had to let it go at the end of every night,” she told Reuters
in an interview.
Whether it was cooking or calling a loved one, it was vital for
her to have what she called an “emotional palette cleanser”
after filming.
For her role, Randolph has won the Golden Globe and the Critics
Choice award and also has several nominations, including nods
from SAG and BAFTA.
Experts on the awards prediction website Gold Derby
overwhelmingly favor Randolph to win the best supporting actress
Oscar.
Randolph understands the significance of playing a character who
may resonate with someone who doesn't feel like celebrating
during the holidays.
“Imagine how hard it is if you're going through something and
all that is on your TV is cheery, cheery, cheery, and you don't
feel like that on the inside," Randolph said. "I was very
grateful to be a part of something that could be different and
to be something to help other people."
For the role, Randolph also developed and embodied her
character’s unique accent and clothing.
She worked on portraying a Black woman with an early 1970s
dialect and chose the clothes for Mary, including a purple night
gown and other outfits.
“You've got to touch it," Randolph said.
She wanted people to feel that all of Mary's articles of
clothing and mannerisms meant something to her, including her
pink blouse and the corduroy skirt that she wears at a
restaurant in the film.
"All that kind of detail, the smoking, is just stuff that really
helped anchor me because she's so different from me," Randolph
said.
(Reporting by Rollo Ross, Danielle Broadway; Editing by Mary
Milliken and David Gregorio)
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