Sally Field Gets Standing Ovation for “Hello My Name is Doris” Dramedy at SXSW

Veteran actress Sally Field took the SXSW Film Festival by storm on Saturday, March 14 due to her acclaimed performance in the dramedy by film director Michael Showalter, Hello, My Name is Doris.

Field's performance will certainly be one of the big discoveries out of this year's festival.

According to Ramin Setoodeh of Variety, Field plays the titular character, a 60-something hoarder from Staten Island who develops a crush, which quickly escalates into an obsession, on her much younger co-worker played by Max Greenfield. The movie is based on a 2011 short film by the script's co-writer Laura Terruso, called "Doris & the Intern."

"Certainly I've never read anything as unique as this character," Field said at an audience Q&A session following the screening, where she received a standing ovation. "You get to a certain point, after being in the business for a long time, you read the same thing over and over again. There's nothing that blows your skirt off. This blew my skirt way up."

Showalter instills Hello, My Name is Doris with the same irreverent sensibility as 2001's cult favorite Wet Hot American Summer, which he co-wrote. Field was struck by how the story played with so many different genres. "We are very dramatic sometimes and then literally off the charts screwball comedy," Field said. "It's very hard to mix those together and have it be the same film."

It's also the first time in almost two decades that Field, who's 68, has anchored a theatrical film. A common lament in Hollywood is how weak the roles for actresses are, but 2015 may be an exception to that rule. There are already almost enough strong performances to pack next year's Oscars, including Sundance favorites Saoirse Ronan (Brooklyn), Blythe Danner (I'll See You in My Dreams) and Lily Tomlin (Grandma), with Field now joining their company.