Whatever the outcome of awards season, the film will take Riley’s career to a different level. She has been holed up in the base camp of Mount Stardom for so long it was starting to look as though she would never reach the summit. She was barely out of drama school when she landed the plum role of Catherine Earnshaw in a well-received 2009 version of Wuthering Heights but her ascent since has been steady rather than spectacular. However the next six months should see her reach dizzying heights.