Film Feature: Highs and Lows from the 2019 Sundance Film Festival

After almost two weeks of screenings that ran daily from 8:30 am to midnight, the Sundance Film Festival wrapped up last weekend with its awards presentation. All the winners can be found here, but below I present my personal highlights from my week exploring the Fest’s good, bad, and downright weird. Some of these may be widely released during the year, so I offer my advice on the films you should SEE or SKIP.

1.) Most Over the Top Rip Off of The Office that Feels Like it Was Written At 3:00 am After Smoking Way Too Many Joints: Corporate Animals (Category: Midnight)

Not only does director Patrick Brice (who also directed the much better Sundance offering The Overnight) use a corporate retreat setting for his horror satire, replete with a who’s who of standard office types (Demi Moore as the hard driving boss; Jessica Williams as the dispirited protégée; and Callum Worthy as the eager to please intern, to name a few), but he even casts Office alum Ed Helms as a guide who leads the team on a caving expedition that goes awry, to put it mildly. Trapped deep in a collapsed New Mexico cave (the scenery at least holds its own), the cast is forced to deliver too many stereotypical jokes, especially at the expense of Moore, whose cutthroat boss is little more than a caricature. The group’s descent into cannibalism is played for laughs, but the film isn’t half as edgy as it thinks it is, and the entire exercise feels like writer Sam Bain somehow managed to get his snickering Office fan-fiction greenlit. — SKIP

2.) Most Moving Documentary Offering Sex Advice from a 90-Year-Old Grandmother: Ask Dr. Ruth (Category: Documentary Premieres)

“There’s no such thing as normal,” sex therapist Dr. Ruth Westheimer often reassured her radio talk show callers, making millions of people feel better about their sexual proclivities. She rose to prominence at a time when sex was not widely spoken about, especially on the radio or TV. Non-judgmental and always respectful of her clients, Dr. Ruth led a remarkable life, and director Ryan White (The Keepers) brings her story to the screen in an affecting and inspiring documentary. An only child who lost both her parents in the Holocaust, Dr. Ruth’s journey from orphan girl in Switzerland to the world’s most famous sex therapist is a story of resilience, positivity, and perseverance that has lessons for us all. — SEE

3.) Most Boring Use of Newly Released NASA Footage: Apollo 11 (Category: U.S. Documentary)

Filmmaker Todd Douglas Miller’s idea sounds promising enough: present never-before-seen NASA footage from behind the scenes of the 1969 Neil Armstrong-led lunar mission, and wait for the oohs and ahs. But Miller’s choice to forgo narration and let the footage (of the control room, the capsule, and the spectators on the ground) speak for itself backfires. With no context, the pieced-together film often feels formless and slow, and the gravity (no pun intended) of what NASA accomplished doesn’t come through. In light of recent cinematic dramatizations like Hidden Figures and First Man that offered more personal and suspenseful tellings of the story, Miller’s attempt feels ineffective and disappointing. — SKIP

4.) Film Most Likely to Make You Run Out of the Theater Singing “Born to Run” at the Top of Your Lungs: Blinded by the Light (Category: Narrative Premieres)

The term “crowd favorite” was made for pictures like British director Gurinder Chadha’s latest, a joyous, based-on-a-true-story drama about art — in this case, Bruce Springsteen’s music — and its power to transport and inspire us. Based on British-Pakistani journalist Sarfraz Manzoor’s memoir Greetings from Bury Park, the Bend it Like Beckham director’s new picture follows aspiring young writer Javed (newcomer Viveik Kaler, a natural). Growing up in the small, depressed British town of Luton under Thatcher in 1987, Javed faces racism, uncertainty, and familial conflict, but finds comfort and solidarity in the music and lyrics of the American Springsteen. Chadha got permission from the Boss himself (he reportedly loved the film) to use any of his music, so the soundtrack is filled with enough Springsteen song montages to make even the most mild of Springsteen fans weep. A beautiful story about family, friendship, community, and finding strength, Chadha’s charming film will appeal to the insecure teen inside all of us. — SEE

5.) Earliest Contender for Next Year’s Best Actress Award: Clemency (U.S. Dramatic)

In its 35 year existence, Sundance has only awarded its prestigious Grand Jury Prize to ten female directors. One of those ten, writer/director Chinonye Chukwu, made history this year by becoming not only the tenth woman to take the prize, but also the first African-American woman to do so. Clemency indeed deserves the honor. An unflinching look at the toll the death penalty takes on those who must legally enforce it, the picture is gritty and emotionally raw as it examines a controversial subject from various viewpoints. This year’s Oscars’ ceremony is a few short weeks away, but, with this film, we already have our first contender for one of next year’s Best Actress nominees. Alfre Woodard is absolutely stunning as Bernadine, the warden of a death row men’s prison. A consummate professional, Bernadine’s carefully constructed veneer begins to crack as she prepares for the execution of Anthony Woods (Aldis Hodge, also excellent) after a previous execution doesn’t go as planned.  What is it like for one’s livelihood to be tied to the taking of a human life? Chukwu’s film offers no easy answers, but gives us plenty to contemplate. — SEE

6.) Most Depressing Feature that Will Make You Feel Better About Your Own Upbringing: Honey Boy (Category: U.S. Dramatic)

Actor Shia LaBeouf tries to put some context behind his eccentric reputation in his first feature screenplay. Based on his years spent as a child actor under the erratic supervision of his alcoholic, abusive father, LaBoeuf’s screenplay takes a hard look at addiction, and isn’t easy to watch. LaBoeuf himself tackles his demons to play James, the fictionalized version of his unlikable and unreliable father. Director Alma Har’el tries her best, and elicits more nuanced, heartfelt performances from Noah Jupe and Lucas Hedges as the young and older LaBouef-based character Otis, respectively. But, ultimately, the overwrought material takes its toll, and the actors’ fine work is overshadowed. — SKIP

7.) Documentary Most Likely to Make You Want to Become a Satanist: Hail Satan? (Category: U.S. Documentary)

Satanists don’t actually worship a physical being of Satan, we learn in Penny Lane’s fascinating look at the Satantic Temple. Lane chronicles the Temple’s infamous Anton LaVey origins to its present day organization of national chapters that sponsor beach clean-ups and after-school kids’ programs, giving us an insider’s look into a group that uses the image of Satan as a symbol for rebellion and opposition to the status quo. Fighting valiantly for such hot-button issues as a woman’s right to choose and separation of church and state, TST, as its known, preaches acceptance, and welcomes all into its fold. One of its Seven Fundamental Tenets is that members “should strive to act with compassion and empathy toward all creatures in accordance with reason.” Featuring interviews with charismatic leader Lucien Graves and a host of other TST members, Lane’s documentary shatters our preconceived notions of who Satanists are and what they stand for. — SEE

8.) Most Unnecessary and Melodramatic Remake of a Much Better Foreign Film: After the Wedding (Category: Narrative Premieres)

Bart Freundlich’s remake of Danish writer/director Susanne Bier’s far superior 2006 Oscar nominee of the same name seems to have been made only to garner his wife Julianne Moore an Oscar nomination (to say she perfects the three hankie Oscar sob here is an understatement). Filled with clichés, unbelievable plot points, and way too many long meaningful stares, not even the usually reliable Michelle Williams and Billy Crudup can save this soapy mess. — SKIP