Monday, February 1, 2016

Sundance Film Festival 2016

This year at the Sundance Film Festival I had the opportunity to see sixteen films in nine days in five venues and I would say that I had an even greater experience than last year!  I loved every minute!  A week ago last Saturday I saw Maggie's Plan at the Grand Theatre and it was really funny!  A woman (Greta Gerwig) decides that she wants to have a baby and devises a plan to do it.  However, she soon falls in love with a married man (Ethan Hawke) and realizes that you can't plan love.  This is a typical offbeat Greta Gerwig comedy and I really enjoyed it, especially the hilarious supporting cast: Julianne Moore, Maya Rudolph, and Bill Hader.  Later that night I drove to Ogden (which is not as far away as it used to be now that I live in Bountiful) to see The Lobster.  This was the strangest film I saw at Sundance but I admit that it is pretty intriguing.  In a dystopian future everyone who is not married by a certain age must report to a hotel for 45 days to find a match or be turned into an animal of his or her choice.  David (Colin Farrell), recently divorced, enters the hotel and goes through the motions of finding a mate (in some hilarious scenes) but soon escapes to join the "singles" who are frequently hunted down by the hotel guests.  Ironically, the "singles" have even stricter rules, especially against coupling, and, of course, David finds his soulmate (Rachel Weiss).  It is a fascinating indictment against social norms, but it's pretty weird. Sunday morning I was back at the Grand for a documentary about Gloria Vanderbilt and her son Anderson Cooper called Nothing Left Unsaid.  I really enjoy documentaries about interesting people and this one was very well done (as were all of the documentaries I saw at Sundance this year).  Vanderbilt's story of notoriety and heartbreak is told through her art and I thought it was an effective device.  Anderson Cooper was there to conduct the Q & A after the screening, to my delight, and he was charming and quite funny.  Later that evening I saw Love & Friendship, which was one of my most coveted tickets because it is based on a Jane Austen novella called Lady Susan.  For those of you who don't know this, I love Jane Austen!  Recently widowed and penniless, Lady Susan (Kate Beckinsale) schemes to marry off her daughter to a foolish, but wealthy, man and to marry the eligible brother of her sister-in-law.  It is an engaging comedy of manners with a fabulous cast, especially Tom Bennett who steals the show as the dim-witted Sir James.  I also loved the the introductions of the dramatis personae with fish-eye close-ups and amusing character descriptions.  So much fun!  Monday night I drove up to the Sundance Mountain Resort to see the documentary Weiner.  Filmmaker Josh Kriegman had unprecedented access to Anthony Weiner as the embattled politician attempted a comeback run as New York mayor.  Just when it looks like he has a chance of winning the nomination, another sexting scandal, similar to the one which forced him to resign from Congress, erupts which causes his campaign to derail while the cameras continue to roll.  It is a fascinating look at politics today, where every move is choreographed.  I especially loved when Weiner practices different inflections of "...and for that I am profoundly sorry."  Good stuff!  Tuesday morning I took a group of my students to see The Fits at the Rose Wagner Theatre.   Toni (Royalty Hightower) is an eleven year old tomboy who trains to be a boxer with her brother at a local community center.  One day she watches a drill team practicing and eventually decides to join.  It is a powerful story about identity and fitting in and my students loved it (so did I).  That night I drove back to Ogden to see Manchester by the Sea which was another highly coveted ticket.  Lee Chandler (Casey Affleck) is a janitor/handyman in Boston who is clearly tormented.  When he receives the news that his brother has died, he returns to his hometown for the funeral and learns that he has been appointed as guardian to his nephew (Lucas Hedges) which leaves him reeling.  He does not want to stay because he is constantly reminded of a tragedy that occurred, which is revealed through perfectly timed flashbacks, and his nephew doesn't want to leave his life.  What I loved about this movie, aside from the brilliant performances, is that, while there is a sort of resolution, there isn't a happy ending where Lee's grief is magically abated.  This film is definitely my favorite of the festival.  Wednesday night I was back in Ogden for Little Men, which I thought was a lovely little gem.  When Jake's (Theo Taplitz) grandfather dies, his family moves back to Brooklyn to live in his grandfather's apartment.  A single mother from Chile runs the shop downstairs, paying significantly less rent than market value.  Her son Tony (Michael Barbieri) befriends the shy Jake and their friendship deepens as their parents battle over rent.  The boys give very affecting performances, especially Barbieri, and I really enjoyed it.  Thursday night I had a double feature at the Rose Wagner beginning with Certain Women.  It is a tale of three desperately sad and lonely women living in Montana who search for a connection.  Laura (Laura Dern) is a lawyer whose client will not accept that he doesn't have a Worker's Compensation case.  She spends all of her time trying to help him, eventually even visiting him in prison.  Gina (Michelle Williams), emotionally estranged from her husband and daughter, is obsessed with building a vacation house in the wilderness and badgers a family friend to give her the sandstone on his property.  A nameless ranch hand (Lily Gladstone) with nothing to do follows a group of people into a school for an adult education class on school law taught by a lawyer (Kristen Stewart) who lives hundreds of miles away.  She becomes fascinated by the lawyer and attends the class every night with the hope of talking to her afterwards at the local diner.  It is simultaneously beautiful and depressing and I can't get the scene where Gina's family is inside a tent eating dinner while she sits outside staring at the pile of sandstone out of my mind.  Some of my friends met me for Lovesong next.  A frazzled young mother (Riley Keough) who feels neglected by her husband goes on a road trip with Mindy (Jena Malone), her best friend from college.  Their feelings deepen for each other and they begin an affair.  Three years later they must deal with their feelings before Mindy gets married.  It is very intense, particularly a scene where the women look at each other while on a Ferris wheel.  Friday night I had another double feature, this time back at the Grand Theatre.  The documentary Gleason follows Steve Gleason, a former NFL football player, from his diagnosis with ALS to the present.  It began as a video journal to his unborn son and turned into a triumphant story about living life to the fullest!  It is very powerful and his wife, Michel Varisco, was there for a powerful Q & A.  Next up (it is quite amusing to walk out of a movie and get right back in line for another one) was The Intervention which is hilarious!  A group of friends plan a weekend getaway to stage a marriage intervention for Ruby and Peter (Cobie Smulders and Vincent Piazza) unbeknownst to them.  In the process, each of them must deal with their own problems.  Melanie Lynskey is absolutely brilliant in this film and I laughed and laughed (which was good after crying through Gleason).  Saturday was a full day at the festival with three screenings at three different venues!  First was Newtown, a documentary about the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary, at the Rose Wagner.  It follows the lives of three families who lost children that day and how the tragedy impacted the entire community.  I cried so hard that I had to find Kleenex in my bag and the woman sitting next to me asked for some, too.  One of the mothers was there for the Q & A which was also very moving.  Next was Richard Linklater: Dream is Destiny at the Broadway.  This documentary follows Richard Linklater, one of my favorite directors, as a Hollywood outsider who makes movies on his own terms with discussions about all of his movies from Slacker to Boyhood (which I think is a masterpiece).  I really enjoyed it.  Finally, I saw Michael Jackson's Journey from Motown to Off the Wall with my sister Marilyn at the Grand.  Marilyn loves Michael Jackson and I'm so glad that we were able to see it (another very coveted ticket).  Spike Lee focuses on Michael Jackson's transition from a member of the Jackson 5 to a solo artist with archival footage and interviews with those who were there.  I know that most people view Thriller as Jackson's masterpiece but I have always really loved Off the Wall because it is brilliant (I had a copy on vinyl when I was in Jr. High) and it is before he became so weird.  Marilyn loved it and so did I.  Yesterday was my final screening at Sundance!  I saw Mapplethorpe: Look at the Pictures at the Rose Wagner.  This documentary explores the scandalous life of photographer Robert Mapplethorpe and his controversial photographs.  I found it to be fascinating but it is not for everyone (in fact, it was the only film that required ID to enter).  Once again, I loved talking to people about film (and, occasionally, snowshoeing) while standing in line.  I had a conversation with a guy from Florida about all the films we had seen at the festival (most notably, The Lobster) which turned into an epic discussion about Wes Anderson.  Talking to people who are just as passionate about the things that I am makes me come alive!  It was a wonderful nine days and I'm already looking forward to next year!

No comments:

Post a Comment

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...