The Sundance Film Festival is underway in snowy Park City, and Deadline is on the ground to watch all of the key films. Here is a compilation of our reviews from the fest, which last year saw A.V. Rockwell’s A Thousand and One win U.S. Dramatic Competition prize. Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project and Beyond Utopia took the top documentary awards, and both went on to make the Oscar shortlist.
Check out the reviews below, click on the titles to read them in full, and keep checking back as we add more.
‘Freaky Tales’
eOne/Macro
Section: Premieres
Director-screenwriters: Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden
Cast: Pedro Pascal, Jay Ellis, Normani Kordei Hamilton, Dominique Thorne, Ben Mendelsohn, Ji-Young Yoo, Jack Champion, Angus Cloud, Kier Gilchrist
Deadline’s takeaway: Magnetic performances by its all-star cast attack each twist and turn and drip with charisma in Freaky Tales, but for all its slick style the anthology film lacks narrative substance to match.
‘Ghostlight’
Cinetic
Section: Premieres
Directors: Kelly O’Sullivan, Alex Thompson
Cast: Keith Kupferer, Dolly De Leon, Katherine Mallen Kupferer, Tara Mallen
Deadline’s takeaway: Getting impatient for Kenneth Lonergan to make another great movie? Ghostlight should scratch that itch and more: a funny, intelligent and yet at times almost unbearably sad movie that takes a searing family tragedy and spins it into a riveting redemption story that somehow never hits a false note.
‘I Saw The TV Glow’
Sundance Institute
Section: Midnight
Director-screenwriter: Jane Schoenbrun
Cast: Justice Smith, Brigette Lundy-Paine, Fred Durst
Deadline’s takeaway: Given the director’s trans identity, it’s not hard to see I Saw The TV Glow as a metaphor for gender dysphoria. But Schoenbrun also has a lot to say about the role of pop culture in adolescence and the dangers of holding onto it.
‘Layla’
Fox Cub Films
Section: World Dramatic
Director: Amrou Al-Kadhi
Cast: Bilal Hasna, Louis Greatorex, Safiyya Ingar
Deadline’s takeaway: What borders on self-pity never quite tips over thanks to a winning performance by Bilal Hasna, who keeps the title character grounded on their voyage of self-discovery and holds our sympathies, just about, even at his most petulant. A refreshing rebuttal of gay stories that end in tragedy.
Kristen Stewart and Steven Yeun in ‘Love Me’
Courtesy of Sundance Institute. Photo by Justine Yeung.
Section: U.S. Dramatic Competition
Director-screenwriters: Sam Zuchero, Andy Zuchero
Cast: Kristen Stewart, Steven Yeun
Deadline’s takeaway: Despite its strong start with grounded concepts and themes, Love Me gradually becomes cluttered with various messages. Consequently, it strays from being funny and charming to something more erratic and challenging to follow.
‘Stress Position’
Neon
Section: U.S. Dramatic Competition
Director-screenwriter: Theda Hammel
Cast: John Early, Qaher Harhash, Theda Hammel, Amy Zimmer, Faheem Ali, John Roberts
Deadline’s takeaway: While moments emerge showing the glimmer of an insightful character study, the film dissolves into an endurance test drowned out by superficial noise. While one must tip the cap to Hammel’s sheer feat of micro-budget production, their organic style choices bewilder more than enlighten.
‘Thelma’
David Bolen/CAA Media Finance
Section: Premieres
Director-screenwriter: Josh Margolin
Cast: June Squibb, Fred Hechinger, Richard Roundtree, Parkey Posey, Malcolm McDowell
Deadline’s takeaway: Mortality is baked into every aspect of this movie, even when Thelma gets her showdown with the man who’s caused her so much misery. Nevertheless, there’s nothing gloomy in its message or June Squibb’s barnstorming performance. As Bette Davis put it, old age ain’t no place for sissies.