Fighting with My Family
I had the distinct pleasure of attending the Sundance Film Festival 2019 as a member of the press. Now let me get one quick complaint out of the way – the “Working Press” pass is a futile and ineffective means of covering this festival. I need to make that clear to the audience. First world problems… I get it. Regardless because of the limitations of this pass, I didn’t get to see everything I wanted. Here’s a quick hit on the films I missed and hope to cover in the coming months: Brittany Runs a , The Last Black Man in San Francisco, The Farewell, Apollo 11. So thanks for that Sundance. Hopefully next year we’ll get the full press pass. Anyway, without further ado – here are my five favorite films from Sundance 2019!
Telling the tale of WWE wrestler Paige and her journey from Norwich wrestler to the wild and wacky world of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). Florence Pugh is absolutely stellar and shows exactly how talented she is giving Paige the emotions needed. She’s a fantastic actress. Nick Frost steals a ton of scene and Stephen Merchant’s writing shines. For all HIS use in the promotional materials, Dwayne Johnson isn’t in it a whole lot. That’s a good thing though as his schtick would’ve bogged it all down. Overall a solid film and one everyone in the family will enjoy.
The Report
This one tells the story of Senate staffer Daniel Jones and his 5 year journey to get his report on post-911 interrogation techniques and their use on suspected terrorists. Adam Driver might be in line for another Oscar nomination if VICE Studios and Amazon play this right. He’s stellar here. Milking every ounce out of this role and the films wonderful script this is the prototypical “dad movie” that I think will have more reach then something like Bridge of Spies or The Post did. Both of those got Best Picture love. Annette Bening is on her normal excellence. Overall a really good political drama that is sure to make your Dad super hyped… unless he’s hella conservative. In that case, he’ll probably be really mad.
Hail Satan?
This documentary takes a look at The Satanic Temple, not to be confused with The Church of Satan. It shines a light, or rather The Darkness on the Seven Tenets of the belief as well as what their goals are. A misunderstood religion that I think needs a bit of understanding from the world as a whole. Director Penny Lane does just that. She does it by focusing on The Satanic Temple itself and NOT its charismatic leader Lucien Greaves. An educating experience that holds together very well. It’s equal parts informative and silly. Funny when it has to be while pointing out the hypocrisies in their Christian counterparts – particularly the argument involving government property and the Ten Commandments. Check this one out in April when it comes out!
Before You Know It
Written by Hannah Pearl Utt and Jen Tullock the two as sisters to a New York theater owner and former actor (played brilliantly by Mandy Patinkin). When their father passes away they are tasked with finding the mysterious woman who owns the family theater. All along under the impression that their father was the sole owner. What they find instead is aging soap actress Sherrell played by Judith Light. Pearl Utt also directs in this familial drama that is just as funny as it is charming. A truly great indie that I hope will find a home soon so that all of you can check it out!
Animals
Here it is! My favorite film from this entire festival Sophie Hyde’s Animals based on Emma Jane Unsworth’s book of the same name. It tells the story of two friends Laura and Tyler (played wonderfully by Holliday Grainger and Alia Shawkat) living in Dublin and trying to have an amazing time. As they inch closer to thirty, Laura starts to realize that perhaps her life never began as it should’ve. This is a wonderfully charming and devilishly hilarious spin on a tale that’s been told before – but never like this. Alia Shawkat is a marvel here and steals every scene she’s in. This one deserves all the attention when it drops.