Gotham Nominees: Lili Taylor in "Paper Spiders"

by Nick Taylor

With the 2021 Gotham Awards just a week away, we thought it’d be fun to highlight a handful of nominated films that could use some attention. It’s always worthwhile to sort through that exclusive group of widely available, barely distributed, minimally buzzed films hiding between the noteworthy early releases and the awards players that won’t legally exist to the moviegoing public for a few more weeks. Inon Stampanier’s Paper Spiders, which earned an Outstanding Lead Performance nomination for Lili Taylor, falls safely into this lucky group. So, to start with a good film that deserves a moment in the spotlight, and as tribute to all the Lili Taylor gays out there (ie, gays I know who can’t stop watching The Conjuring), we begin our little tour here!

Paper Spiders - a title that won’t make any sense until the last few minutes - centers itself on the relationship between college-bound high school senior Melanie (Stefania Owen) and her mother Dawn (Lili Taylor)...

Click to read more ...