Even when her actual films come into focus, the discussion has centered on the box office (or lack thereof), not on the films themselves. Maybe that’s because to wrestle with the roles Sweeney is choosing would complicate the narrative about her. If offscreen she’s playing into her bombshell looks and catering to the male gaze, onscreen she has an almost progressive bent, gravitating toward stories of scorned women fighting the patriarchy. In that sense, Sydney Sweeney has become one of the most perplexing figures in modern cinema.