Searching the Sundance Lineup

Michael C from Serious Film here.

This Tuesday the Sundance Film Festival announced its 2011 Dramatic Competition lineup. It's ironic that a festival devoted to independence and originality has me looking over the list of films like the crassest studio boss ever to chomp down on a cigar behind a giant desk. You can't help but gravitate towards big stars and familiar concepts. "You've got fifty words, kid. Wow me!"

One can't help but run over the list trying to spot the future of filmmaking somewhere in there. Last Winter's festival had Blue Valentine, which is still a big part of the conversation, and Winter's Bone, which gains momentum by the day. In fact, the roots of the current awards season goes all the way back to the 1998 festival where Darren Aronofsky was awarded for directing Pi and Lisa Cholodenko won the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Prize for High Art.

History has shown that festival hits come out of nowhere and can't be predicted. The flick that was supposed to be the hot ticket ends up barely limping into release, while the film no one had their eye on ends up with lines that resemble the run on the bank scene from It's a Wonderful Life.

That said, if I were filling out my dance card now here are three films that I would make a point of catching based on nothing but their capsule summary and my gut instinct. We can check back in a few months to see how sharp my intuition is.

Terri: (Director Azazel Jacobs; Written by Jacobs and Patrick Dewitt) Described as a story about an orphan "mercilessly teased by his peers and roundly ignored by his teachers" Terri has echoes of previous festival winner Welcome to the Dollhouse. The fact that it goes on to describe an unlikely friendship between Terri and a vice-principal played by John C. Reilly suggests it doesn't follow too closely in that films emotionally bruising footsteps. Still, films that can accurately capture the hell of high school life are few and far between, and for all his familiarity I am still not immune to Reilly's goofy charms. Mark me down as curious.

Higher Ground: (Director Vera Farmiga; Written by Carolyn S Briggs and Tim Metcalfe) Vera Farmiga has been one of the most welcome presences in movies in the past few years. I was one of those who thought she deserved a nomination for The Departed for the way she made a somewhat thin role three-dimensional and plausible. The fact that she is transferring that powerful perception to the director's chair is reason enough to pique my interest. That the story of a mother trying to break free from a religious fundamentalist community sounds topical and rich with potential seals the deal. The presence of current Oscar dark horse John Hawkes (go John Hawkes!) doesn't hurt either.

On the Ice: (Directed and Written by Andrew Okpeaha MacLean) The film with the briefest description of any in competition: "On the snow-covered Arctic tundra, two teenagers try to get away with murder." It features unknowns in front of and behind the camera, but then the first Sundance Film Festival was won by two unknown brothers from Minnesota and their efficient little murder story Blood Simple. I'm always a sucker for lean and mean thrillers that strip suspense down to its essential elements and this one looks like it has a unique setting to boot. On the Ice has my attention.

Here's the complete lineup from Sundance.org
Which film grabs your attention?

Yes, No, Maybe So: "Source Code"

With Love and Other Drugs about to open we feel absolutely bombarded with Gyllenhaaliciousness. Which is fine by us... Especially when it comes with Hathawayish sparkle.

But such is the nature of healthy physiques careers that before you even have a chance to see Movie A, you're already asked to think about Movie B and sometimes even movie C (given that roughly 89.4% of film writing on the web seems to be devoted to pre-production rather than actual cinema.

In 2011, Jake is ditching Anne for Michelle Monaghan (on a train) and Vera Farmiga (in a control booth) inside Duncan Jones (Moon) sci-fi thriller Source Code. Let's give it the yes, no, maybe so treatment.



Yes. Well, Jones has our attention post Moon (2009) and the cast is full of fine actors.

No. "I want to save her." "You can't it doesn't work that way." "Look for suspicious passengers"... a lot of what we see her suggests a very high concept -- Groundhog Day meets Every Action Movie With a Countdown Clock -- without much by way of its own identity. While it's true that 2:24 minutes of screen time isn't much, they don't show us anything here that seems like it unquestionably will rise above action, sudden romance, or time travel "make the most of the time you have!" clichés.

Maybe So.  It seems a touch perverse to shove highly watchable actors like Jeffrey "Belize" Wright and "Crazy-Eyes" Farmiga into work clothes and onto television monitors to become human exposition machines. Are they wasted here? This is always a danger with action movies that use awards-calibre actors for color. I get that filmmakers bank on strong performers to elevate the overall quality of a movie, trusting them to grant humanity and intrigue where none may exist in the script, but it still can feel like a waste. On the other hand, it can work magic (see: the Bourne franchise) so we can always hope.

And what's with the canted angles of all the monitors within the Source Code? They have the technology to build a time travel machine that continually transports you into another human being's body right before they die but they didn't have the budget for a level?

What's your verdict: yes, no or maybe so?

Jeffrey Wright Jake Gyllenhaal

Imaginary Actress Wars

Weird but true confession: Whenever I look at photos from film festival press conferences, I always end up imagining that it was one big press conference with all of the movie stars and films represented at the same table. This can lead to weird imaginary resentments, unspoken battles and other duets.


I mean what would Nic' & Hil' even have to say too each other? Not that Hilary wouldn't feign amiability and Nicole wouldn't glare frostily. Maybe they'd talk about Best Actress wins? It's the only thing they have in common.


And what does Juliette Lewis think of Vera Farmiga? Or maybe she's just wondering when Vera is due or what it's like to kiss George Clooney or maybe why they both don't get first choice of every movie script in town since they're so uniquely talented.

Perhaps you can make better sense of these imaginary mash-ups in the comments.

This message has been brought to you by ADD and afternoon boredom.

Hilary Swank Nicole Kidman