Back in 2008, Lance Hammer released his feature directorial debut, “Ballast,” a self-financed indie that went on to become an acclaimed, Sundance Award–winning drama and introduced him as a director to watch.
Unfortunately, over the past 18 years, Hammer hasn’t released another film and has gone almost completely silent, mostly working quietly in academia — teaching film while continuing to write and develop projects, many of which never aligned financially or structurally enough to make it to production.
Yet here we are, nearly two decades later, and Hammer has just premiered a new film — “Queen at Sea” — in competition at the 76th Berlin Film Festival. Not only that, early reviews suggest his long absence may have been worth the wait.
Strong notices are coming in from THR, IndieWire (B+), Variety, Screen, ICS, and IONCINEMA (3.5/5). However, it’s not all raves — The Playlist isn’t sold on Hammer’s sophomore effort, handing it a “C” grade.
The synopsis centers on a woman who returns to London to care for her aging mother, whose advanced dementia has made daily life and decision-making increasingly impossible. As she and her stepfather struggle over the best way to protect and support her, the family is forced to confront painful questions of autonomy, love, and responsibility.
The cast is led by Juliette Binoche as the daughter at the heart of the story, with Tom Courtenay as her stepfather, alongside Anna Calder-Marshall, Florence Hunt, Steven Cree, and Cody Molko in supporting roles. Adolpho Veloso (“Train Dreams”) is listed as the cinematographer.
At the moment, “Queen at Sea” has no U.S. distribution, but that could change soon — especially if the critical consensus continues to tilt positive.
We managed to gather 118 ballots from critics, programmers, filmmakers, and scholars. Each was asked to submit a single title, the one they believe to be the best of Fincher’s filmography.