Lily Gladstone was presented with the Best Actress award at the National Board of Review Awards Gala by Patti Smith on Tuesday, marking Smith’s first public appearance since being rushed to hospital with a sudden illness in December. She praised Gladstone’s performance as “seamlessly embodying the courageous Mollie Burkhart” in Martin Scorsese’s film Killers Of The Flower Moon, for which Gladstone won a Golden Globe as well.
During her speech, Smith noted that the film “pierces the vein of human weakness, greed, cowardice, and betrayal”, and hailed Gladstone as “the new moon that can be felt, but not seen”, citing her “sense of the space around and the rushing energy of her own blood” in every gesture. Smith’s previous public appearance was when she sang with The National back in September, for a duet on their track ‘I Need My Girl’.
In other news, John Lydon recently stated that he believes it is “wrong” to credit Smith with New York’s punk origins since the UK did it first. In an interview with The Sun, the punk legend pointed out the influence of acts like T.Rex, David Bowie, Slade, Mott The Hoople, and The Alex Harvey Band. He criticized the “myth” that surrounds Smith and asserted that her influence pales in comparison to that of the aforementioned UK acts.
Regardless, Smith’s appearance at the National Board of Review Awards Gala was a welcome return and testimony to her recovery from illness. Her gesture of presenting Gladstone with the Best Actress award will no doubt be remembered by movie-goers for years to come
Read the full article on NME here: Read More