Read on Twitter
Alright folks, I'm covering #Sundance2021 this year! I'll do my best to keep you posted on my brief thoughts on each film along the way. Let's begin!
#CODA: Falls back on too many Sundance cliches for its own good, and the narrative is scattered for the first hour. But the characters are all immersive and inviting, the tender dramatic beats even more so, and I was won over by the end. When the Sundance formula works, it works!
#Flee: Animated documentaries are basically a genre of their own at this point after WALTZ WITH BASHIR, but FLEE uses this format to tell a personal and heartbreaking refugee story that's more about the art of narratives as personal survival, each singular and universal at once.
#CENSOR: Great period designs, crisp cinematography, and unnerving atmosphere are undermined by a ho-hum script that doesn't match its wicked premise. Ironically, for as much as it pushes itself in dread and gore, the narrative is sorely held-back. Dare I say it's ... restricted.
#SummerOfSoul: Incredible restored concert footage and Questlove's impassioned direction result in one of the most rousing cultural restorations in recent memory. A bit too conventional but still a strong debut. An entertaining way to wake up, certainly. Questlove's in the house!
#humanfactors: An intriguing domestic premise gets too unfocused for its own good, but the well-observed direction, nuanced performances, and sturdy camerawork still left an impression. Should've been darker/weirder/funnier than it is, but decent enough. Also, that last shot ...
#homeroom: i.e. City Hall Pass. An uplifting documentary about Oakland's Class of 2020 and an intriguing modern time capsule as teens start their lives just when everything went to shit. Limited by things in and out of its control, but a nice reminder that the kids are all right.
#JohnAndTheHole: "What if Yorgos Lanthimos directed a Disney Channel Original Movie?" makes it sound more mischievously cheeky than this is, but I'm always down for bleakly amusing works attacking the nulling comforts and complicity of upper-middle-class suburbia. A whole ordeal
#TheMostBeautifulBoyInTheWorld: An evocative, wistful examination at a kid expected to grow up too early and a deeply melancholy portrait of a man who never became a boy, wrestling with the weight of morality while living in infamy. Beautifully sad. My current #Sundance favorite
#OnTheCountOfThree: An exhilarating directorial debut. Jerrod Carmichael proves himself to be a confident, commanding filmmaker, filled with verve and vulnerability in each measure. Balances a tight tonal rope exceptionally well. Christopher Abbott remains the best GIRLS alumni
#Cryptozoo: A vibrant, adventurous animated feature that presents the flawed ecoculture of a liberal safe haven in a creative, enveloping presentation. Felt good to be immersed in something this fantastically bizarre and bewitching. Pliny is my favorite #Sundance character so far
MOTHER SCHMUCKERS: Admirably stupid in an attempt to be John Waters' DUMB & DUMBER but mostly crass for the sake of being crass. Might be transgressive enough to win over a small counterculture, but even at 70 min, I found it to be pretty tedious. Got a couple chuckles, though
STREET GANG: Broad-reaching and formally conventional but this SESAME STREET doc is undeniably sweet and expectedly touching. Easy to like and, yes, it's warmly felt (hardy har har). Not as concentrated as WON'T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR? but still the wholesome watch you want it to be.
KNOCKING: Gripping sound editing, nifty camerawork, and an all-in lead performance can't save a familiar horror movie that feels more like a premise than a fleshed-out plot. There's constantly a better movie waiting to come out. Suffice to say, this one didn't knock my socks off
IN THE EARTH: Nice to see Ben Wheatley return to folksy, gnarly roots with a horror film that's appropriately more down-to-earth. That said, its individual moments (notably in the 2nd half) stand out more than the whole, which covers familiar ground. Mansell's score is obvs great
EIGHT FOR SILVER: An intriguing spin on werewolf lore, told with brooding dread, dark mythicism, and dense world-building. Yet, it's 30 min overlong, and my interest fluctuated. Some solid creature feature effects and gore. Holbrook is dependable as "We couldn't get Dan Stevens."
COMING HOME IN THE DARK: What if FUNNY GAMES went on a JOY RIDE after THE KILLING OF A SACRED DEER? Brutal, almost relentlessly vicious, but also tautly directed and fiercely acted. Just enough pitch-black humor to keep it from being miserable. But nothing you haven't seen before
MARVELOUS AND THE BLACK HOLE: Similar to CODA, it hits (almost) every Sundance trope out there. Unlike CODA, it's not good enough to overcome its cliches. Perlman is great, though, and she constantly does magic (literal magic). It's charming and sincere, but too cutesy for me
LAND: What if WILD was MILD? Sadly, Robin Wright's feature directorial debut is a dull disappointment, lacking emotional depth or honesty. Attempts to be soulful and contemplative but unfortunately becomes a hollow bore. That said, Demian Bichir gives the 2nd half fertile ground
TOGETHER TOGETHER: Entirely decent, both morally and quality-wise. Feels like the 1st season of an NBC dramedy series crunched into a movie, but it's also entirely watchable and sweet-natured. Very happy to see Patti Harrison's continued rise. Needed more Jo Firestone. Pleasant!
THE BLAZING WORLD: An ambitious, admirable attempt to cross ALICE IN WONDERLAND with HOUSE-like trippiness. Unfortunately, after a promising start, this passion project gets lost in its indulgences. But it's hard to denounce a movie where Udo Kier plays an interdimensional mentor
THE DOG WHO WOULDN'T BE QUIET: The dogs are good and the movie is fine! It's pro-canine and anti-capitalist. What more could you possibly want from a mild-mannered noon Sundance movie? That said, I'm gonna forget most of it by next week. But it's still a nice little diversion.
PLEASURE: Much will be made about its graphic sexual content, but this bold debut is also surprisingly tender and authentic in its X-rated exploration of the toxic adult entertainment industry. Sofia Kappel's performance is astonishing. Less BOOGIE NIGHTS. More SUPPORT THE GIRLS.
LIFE IN A DAY 2020: Lacks the novelty of the first movie, but in true sequel fashion, it's a darker, more mournful movie than the original for ... obvious reasons. Admittedly, I don't remember the 2011 movie well, and I'll likely forget this one soon. But overall, it's fine!
THE SPARKS BROTHERS: Edgar Wright is great at making the allure of the Sparks both tangible and undefinable, respecting the band's generation-hopping mystique while also demonstrating the brilliance and prowess of its central creatives. Straightforward but playful and heartfelt.
EL PLANETA: A delicate, personal, warm-hearted feature directorial debut from multi-hyphenate Amalia Ulman, but I'm currently burnout on casual, low-stakes, slice-of-life black-and-white character pieces based on the everyday lives of mundane people. But Ulman's vision is amusing
NIGHT OF THE KINGS: It sadly lost me at the end whenever the focus expanded outside and beyond the prison's walls, but this is otherwise an immersive, engaging examination of how the essential art of storytelling can transport and save, especially when confined by outside forces
JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH: Mesmerizing. An immensely impassioned and undeniably tragic true-life story told with vivid, vital urgency, with Shaka King's faultless direction accelerated by two incredible lead performances from Daniel Kaluuya and LaKeith Stanfield. A powerhouse.
PASSING: Flourishes in its splendid photography, elegant period designs, and thoughtful performances, but it's a bit too distant to really stir the soul. But Rebecca Hall is a sensitive, sophisticated first-time filmmaker, showing us a promising director who may soon come to pass
THE WORLD TO COME: PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE > THE WORLD TO COME > AMMONITE. Limited in surprises, but grand in hearty, invigorated passion. The dialogue is a little too overwrought, sure, but I admire this movie for being so elegantly and sweepingly romantic. A warmly sad film.
MISHA AND THE WOLVES: It'll do well on Netflix. The direction favors a heavily-conventional "true story" style that appeals to their brand. Despite its uninspired direction and generic approach, however, the true/false story is so enticing that you can't help but get sucked in.
JOCKEY: A simple, familiar, straightforward adult drama that's well-honed and well-acted. Clifton Collins Jr. is expectedly excellent, but so are Molly Parker and Moises Arias. The horses, likewise, are also good. Doesn't break the mold but a graceful, wistful character study.
TRY HARDER!: Charming! A breezy, nimble, immensely likable high school documentary with affable subjects and engaging conversations about the various all-consuming stresses of high school that we can forget as we get older. Never outstanding but good as it is. Why try harder?
PRISONERS OF THE GHOSTLAND: Never quite as wild and wacky as it was hyped up to be, but it's also more lyrical than its detractors suggest. A Gillam-esque mythic odyssey where Nic Cage screams "TESTICLE" at the top of his lungs. I like what I like, and this is something I liked.
FIRST DATE: Insufferable! A one-wild-night Tarantino/Coen riff that should be my jam but it's never as fun, clever, or amusing as it finds itself. Tyson Brown's winsome lead performance and decent action beats keep it from being awful, but this was my least favorite Sundance film
PRESIDENT: A harrowing, first-rate journalistic account of Zimbabwe's 2018 presidential elections. Infuriating and chilling in equal measure. Some of the most impactful documentary filmmaking I've seen in some time. Also just devastating to watch. A high point of the festival!
SUPERIOR: Look, I want Todd Solondz's THE PARENT TRAP as much as the next weirdo, but this one didn't do it for me, I'm very sorry to say. Love the look of it (those sets!). Its dry humor is good for an infrequent laugh. But it's also slack and otherwise unnotable. Disappointing!
ONE FOR THE ROAD: Sappy and overlong, this reflective, romanticized drama is familiar in its plotting but grandiose in its execution. The saccharine sensibilities prevent it from earning its finer grace notes, but it's playfully paced, visually lavish and personal where it counts
AMY TAN: UNINTENDED MEMOIR: Given the tragic circumstances behind-the-scenes, I wanted to love it. It's ultimately too conventionally beholden to a generic doc formula for me to fall for. Nevertheless, this is still a commendable, caring portrait of a compelling literary subject.
