Last Updated on August 3, 2021
It's hard to believe that I've been attending the Sundance Film Festival for more than a decade now. In fact, this year marks my eleventh time attending the festival, and what a ride its been. Back in 2010, when I first attended the festival, no one was talking about streaming. Heck, I remember Fox Searchlight showing CYRUS on 35mm film (I sat next to Roger Ebert at the press screening! He was a gent), and the only acquisitions that mattered were theatrical. That year's big breakout movie was THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT ($34 million gross and a best picture nomination at the Oscars), but I also saw another side of Sundance that year – where red hot films could crash and burn on the heels of a single screening. Coming a year after 500 DAYS OF SUMMER, the big hoped-for hit in January of 2010 was HESHER starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Natalie Portman, but one nasty scene towards the end was enough to make the audience loathe the film, and that was enough to doom it to obscurity. So, Sundance is both a blessing and a curse to filmmakers. If you have the goods – the sky's the limit. But, if you're movie's not in fighting shape, beware.
Over the years I've seen some pretty incredible films play the festival, including CALL ME BY YOUR NAME, MANCHESTER BY THE SEA, THE REPORT, BLINDED BY THE LIGHT and many more. But, I've also seen movies like BIRTH OF A NATION get hyped up and then crash and burn upon release, and to me that's one of the most exciting things about going to this festival. In some ways, you get to be part of history (I'll never forget attending the world premieres of BOYHOOD and GET OUT and the first 830am press screening of HEREDITARY) but the movies you're excited about going in are rarely the ones you're raving about coming out. It's all about discovery, and these are some of the films I'm thinking are the ones to get excited about.
The Nest
THE NEST is my most anticipated movie for one reason – it comes from director Sean Durkin. His MARTHA MARCY MAY MARLENE ranks as one of the best movies I've even seen in my eleven years of going to the fest, while I also thoroughly enjoyed his Netflix limited series, "Southcliffe". This one's a 1980's set period piece starring two amazing actors – Jude Law and Carrie Coon, so I'm pretty hyped for this one. That said, I have no idea what the genre is. I assume it's a drama, but the title makes it sound like a horror film. We'll see.
The Last Thing He Wanted
Dee Rees returns to Sundance after her acclaimed MUDBOUND with another Netflix project, THE LAST THING HE WANTED. Check out this cast: Anne Hathaway, Ben Affleck, Willem Dafoe. Need I saw more? This is based on a novel by Joan Didion about a woman forced to take over her father's weapons dealing business during the Reagan-era eighties, when the government was tied-up with the Contras in Central America. Sounds pretty compelling, right?
Falling
Viggo Mortensen is notoriously choosy so whenever he comes out with a new film we should sit up and take note. He not only stars in FALLING, but he also wrote and directed this family drama about a man returning home to confront his father. Notably, his dad is played by the great Lance Henriksen, possibly the most underrated actor of all time. Man oh man, would I love to see him get a firecracker of a part that'll elevate him to the status he's deserved since – oh I dunno – 1983?
Promising Young Woman
The buzz around PROMINSING YOUNG WOMAN is two-pronged. For one, it marks the return of Carey Mulligan to prominent starring roles after a few years spent working on more modest fare like WILDLIFE and Netflix's "Collateral." The other is that it comes from "Killing Eve" co-mastermind Emerald Fennell, with her work on the script of this one landing her on 2018's version of The Black List. Mulligan stars as a barista who, by night, wages a brutal vendetta against violent men. Certainly, it sounds timely and controversial, and with Focus Features behind it, it's one of the fest's most hyped titles.
Downhill
One of the more mainstream titles to play this year, DOWNHILL is the American remake of Ruben Östlund's FORCE MAJEURE, which was an absolutely savage comedy exploring what would happen if a family man's shortfallings were exposed in a disasterous, public way. Based on the trailers, this seems a softer, more mainstream take on the material but I'm hoping Nat Faxton and Jim Rash give us at least a little of the edge Östlund's film provided. Certainly, Julia Louis Dreyfus and Will Ferrell seem well cast, but it remains to be seen if this is going to be more than an assembly line comedy for them.
Zola
Apparently, this is the first film ever made based on a Twitter thread – certainly a sign of our times. I don't know much about this one other than the fact that A24 is putting it out, and Riley Keough stars. Both of those things are enough for me as I've noticed in my years of attending film festivals the presense of one or either of those elements is usually a harbinger of quality.
Palm Springs
As far as acquisition titles go, many are predicting a huge sale for PALM SPRINGS. Described as a surreal romantic comedy, it pairs the great Andy Samberg with the equally great Cristin Milioti, plus J.K. Simmons. Given how heavy some of the other films seems to be, a light comedy will no doubt be a breath of fresh air so don't be surprised if this is one of the big pick-ups from one of the top streamers.
Relic
In my experience, Sundance's Midnight lineup has always been a little more hit and miss than TIFF's, but an interesting thing to note is that when one of them has a lean year, it tends to benefit the other. TIFF's Midnight Madness was definitely on the weak side this year so I'm expecting Sundance to pick of the slack. This one, RELIC, has a pretty good pedigree, with the great Emily Mortimer starring, and the Russo Brothers producing.
Shirley
SHIRLEY stars Elizabeth Moss as 'The Haunting of Hill House" author Shirley Jackson. Coming from Josephine Decker, whose MADELINE'S MADELINE was a word of mouth hit a few Sundances ago, the subject matter is definitely intriguing, and one can't deny that Moss has a good nose for projects. That Michael Stuhlbarg is co-starring is the icing on the cake to me.
Worth
WORTH tells the true story of lawyer Kenneth Feinberg's (Michael Keaton) attemps to establish the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, and the emotional toll it took determining exactly how much each family was entitled to, as in effect he was judging the worth of each person that perished that fateful day. It's nice to see Keaton firmly back on the A-list, and this seems like a firecracker of a part for the venerable star, with Stanely Tucci supporting him as the widow of a 9/11 victim who spars with him over how the account is to be managed.
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