Emma Stone finds relief in grim Greek silent movie

ATHENS, Greece — For Emma Stone, acting in “Bleat,” a Greek silent movie with surreal and disturbing scenes of sex, death, and resurrection, was a professional challenge and a relief. “What I like about Yorgos would take me a very long time to answer,” Stone said Thursday after a screening for the news media in Athens, and on the eve of the premiere at the Greek National Opera. “In short I’ll say it’s very rare that you meet somebody who you get along with so well but on top of that artistically the ability as an actor want to give yourself over to something and not have to worry about every small move you make.” After winning an Academy Award for best actress in “La La Land” in 2017, Stone worked with Lanthimos in the “The Favourite,” and earned an Oscar nomination as an actress in a supporting role two years later. “Bleat” was shot in early 2020 on Tinos that’s famous for its whitewashed homes just before the pandemic triggered lockdowns in Greece and across Europe, and Stone described the experience as a welcome change.