Fair Play
FAIR PLAY may not be as smart and original as it initially seems, but the momentum, central performances, and cranked-up drama deliver an engrossing takedown of fragile male entitlement and the roles many inhabit to advance despite it.
All content tagged Sundance Film Festival
Girl
Adura Onashile’s GIRL is a gentle and sometimes hypnotic view of a life laced with the after-effects of trauma. The film is an elegantly slow-burning drama, and its willingness to let the visuals and understated performances establish an atmosphere allows the audience to feel Grace and Ama’s emotions all the more keenly.
Infinity Pool
INFINITY POOL is a compelling film that effectively garners visceral and spontaneous reactions to thoughtfully constructed grotesqueries. However, the scant implementation of the ideas driving the characters’ behaviour leaves it like that hotel leisure showpiece; the lack of boundaries is an intricately and considerately engineered illusion. A look beneath its glistening surface and the safe confinement becomes all too apparent.
After Yang
AFTER YANG is a film steeped in humanity despite its gently dystopian subject: an android sibling of an adopted child. Koganada’s feature includes many thought-provoking strands focused on family privacy, technological dependence, and what makes someone – or something – belong to a family unit. Still, its imagination and sincerity when dealing with memory and … Continue reading After Yang
Resurrection
Although the story develops inconsistently, a captivating trauma-laced performance from Rebecca Hall and a confidently creepy supporting one from Tim Roth combines with an intense atmosphere in Andrew Semans’ feature to create a gripping horror story.
Black Bear
In the end, BLACK BEAR is a bit of a Penrose triangle of a film. Viewed from certain angles, it may make little sense, but when considered from a new vantage point or spun around, it paradoxically comes together elegantly and beautifully.
Judas and the Black Messiah
JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH doesn’t quite ascend to divine status, but it uses its lead actors’ bright performances to shine a new light on the infernal actions of intolerant institutions.
The Dog Who Wouldn’t Be Quiet
A beautifully shot film, THE DOG WHO WOULDN’T BE QUIET is a cinematic ballad to how humans are tested (often unfairly), how we adapt to even absurd circumstances and how we develop connections – or, indeed, do not – with those around us.
Alex Camilleri Interview
LUZZU premiered at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival, winning the Special Jury Award in acting for the film’s lead, Jesmark Scicluna. Jim Ross spoke with director Alex Camilleri about the making of the film. You can read Jim’s review of the film here. Jim Ross: So, first of all, thank you for the film. I … Continue reading Alex Camilleri Interview
Mass
Fran Kranz’s intense chamber piece is a devastating and formally accomplished story on the nature of forgiveness, guilt and vindictiveness. Jim Ross reviews at Sundance 2021.