A trio of standout roles reveals Hong Chau’s boundless range

By JAKE COYLE
AP Film Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — The seemingly limitless range of Hong Chau is on display in three films this year, in roles so different that they hardly seem the work of one actor. She’s a standout in Darren Aronofsky’s “The Whale,” Kelly Reichardt’s “Showing Up” and Mark Mylod’s haute cuisine black comedy “The Menu.” Five years after her breakthrough performance in Alexander Payne’s “Downsizing,” the cluster of films is bringing Chau into view better than ever before, even while she remains maddeningly hard to pin down.