Yes, the Sundance Film Festival had a weak lineup of films this year, but can you blame them for not coming up with something better? The pandemic delayed, and even shut down, numerous indie productions these last 20 months, to the point where programmers for the fest had to look extra hard for quality filmmaking.
It didn’t help that Sundance decided to go virtual again this year, scaring off the bigger arthouse studios such as A24 and Neon into premiering their titles online. This opens the door for this coming March’s South by Southwest Festival to nab the bigger titles from these studios, and they already have.
You won’t find “Good Luck, Leo Grande” on my list of the 10 best movies of Sundance 2022. It was bought for $7.5 million by Searchlight, with a clear understanding that Emma Thompson will be campaigned as a Best Actress contender next year. I found the film and the performance to be devoid of the sexual tension and eroticism needed for springing its tepid screenplay to life.
Resurrection
In Andrew Semans’ “Resurrection,” Rebecca Hall gives a bracing, never-better performance as Margaret, a by-the-books exec, both disciplined, and successful at what she does. That is, until David (Tim Roth) returns, carrying with him Margaret’s horrific secrets. Semans’ devilish film builds up the dread as Margaret tries to protect her daughter from a man she believes to be absolutely evil. But is all this paranoia occurring in her head? The ambiguity sells the viewer in being throughly invested, and the effect is damn-near hypnotic.
Watcher
Chloe Okuno‘s “Watcher,” which I raved about a few days before it premiered, played the US dramatic competition. This was a film filled with Polanski-esque atmosphere, as a young American woman (Maika Monroe) wanders around Romania with the feeling that she’s being stalked. Okuno keeps the screws of tension turning throughout her tightly knit narrative, one in which you’re never really sure whether you should trust the main protagonist or not.
Navalny
Almost guaranteed to be a major Oscar contender in the Documentary category, Daniel Roher’s “Navalny” was a late addition to the fest. The film revolves around Russian opposition leader, Alexey Navalny and the events related to his poisoning. With a camera following his every move, Navalny retraces his steps leading up to the poisoning and, enduringly, uncovers a conspiracy that leads to the very top of the Kremlin. “Navalny” is a doc that exposes a shocking series of events, all of which are too mindblowing to reveal on this page.
God’s Country
Meanwhile, in the “premieres” section, there was Julian Higgins’ “God’s Country,” which had Thandie Newton’s grieving, lonely and very “woke” college professor embarking on a psychological game of cat-and-mouse with two toxic hunters she catches trespassing on her property. It’s a simmering slowburn and a career-peak for Newton. It also introduces Newton as a major new voice in indie cinema, most notably for the way Higgins manages to infuse character and tension in beautifully symmetrical fashion.
Fresh
The frustrations of online dating are satirically tackled in Mimi Cave’s “Fresh”. This is the kind of film where the less you know, the better. What you should know about the plot is that it concerns a twenty-something millennial named Noa who bounces from one terrible date to another, only to find perfection in Steve (Sebastien Stan) and wonder, what’s the catch? Steve is a little too good to be true. This is a genre picture through and through — think a glossier version of Miike’s “Audition” — and despite its lack of subtleties or even the absence of character substance, it’s a wild ride.
Cha Cha Real Smooth
Cooper Raiff won the coveted audience award with this, his second feature. “Cha Cha Real Smooth” stars Raiff as Andrew, a Bar Mitzvah party starter who falls hard for Domino (Dakota Johnson), mother to Lola, an autistic child, and engaged to a man she doesn’t want to marry. Raiff and Johnson’s scenes together ooze with romantic yearning. “Cha Cha Real Smooth” pleases due to its performances, including career-best work from Johnson, and Raiff’s smartly written screenplay, which has the kind of humane honesty missing in most romcoms.
Fire of Love
“Fire of Love” features astonishing archival footage of exploding volcanos, captured by two French chasers. Their names are Katia and Maurice Krafft. Much like the subject of Werner Herzog’s “Grizzly Man,” Timothy Treadwell, the Kraffts pursue their passion with the knowledge that maybe one day it could also spell their demise. Sara Dosa’s documentary might not make you fully care for its doomed lovers, but she more than compensates for it by inserting some of the most astonishing volcano imagery ever put on film.
Emily the Criminal
Aubrey Plaza stars as a young woman indebted with student loans who decides to gets involved in a credit card scam that pulls her into L.A’s criminal underworld. “Emily the Criminal” was the closest a Sundance movie came to reigniting the taut, tense and terrific thrillers of ‘70s American cinema. John Patton Ford’s film had social commentary to spare, but Aubrey Plaza stole the show as a 30-something woman immensely desperate to escape the chains of capitalism.
Palm Trees and Power Lines
Jamie Dack’s “Palm Trees and Power Lines” was the most controversial movie of the festival, an unflinching look at a 17-year-old girl’s relationship with a sketchy man more than twice her age. It’s one of the hardest watches I’ve had to endure at Sundance. Dack knows this kind of story could easily veer towards exploitation, but he doesn’t flinch in the realism depicted onscreen. There are hints of Eliza Hittman’s gut-punchingly solemn dramas. Dack, who won the directing prize, is one of the true finds of this year’s Sundance.