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Sundance Film Festival · 2019

Sundance Film Festival 2019

Premieres

Programme

19 films · 9 reviews

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After The Wedding

Review preview for After The Wedding

It’s all watchable enough if lacking real dramatic tension.

Richard Mowe · 3 out of 5
When a woman seeking funds for an Indian orphanage heads to NYC to meet a wealthy benefactor, the past collides with the present.

(Country: US; Year: 2019; Director: Bart Freundlich; Writer: Susanne Bier, Bart Freundlich; Stars: Michelle Williams, Julianne Moore, Billy Crudup, Will Chase, Eisa Davis, Abby Quinn, Azhy Robertson, Doris McCarthy, Susan Blackwell, John DiRenzo, Alex Esola, Greta Quispe, Mackenzie Owens, Amelia Workman, Ron Simons)

Full review See: Bart Freundlich in conversation on Julianne Moore with the boys, Michelle Williams with Alex Esola and Billy Crudup in After The Wedding, and Susanne Bier's Efter Brylluppet , Bart Freundlich in conversation on Michelle Williams' character, Billy Crudup's hair, a Lady Gaga song, connecting two worlds, and the narrative in After The Wedding

World premiere. Day One Film

Animals

After a decade of partying, Laura and Tyler's friendship is strained by Laura’s new love and her focus on her novel. A snapshot of a modern woman with competing desires, at once a celebration of female friendship and an examination of the choices we make when facing a crossroads.

(Country: UK, Australia, Ireland; Year: 2019; Director: Sophie Hyde; Writer: Emma Jane Unsworth; Stars: Holliday Grainger, Alia Shawkat, Amy Molloy, Olwen Fouéré, Dermot Murphy, Elva Trill, Fra Fee, Muiris Crowley, Charlie Maher, Kwaku Fortune, Holliday Grainger, Alia Shawkat, Amy Molloy, Olwen Fouéré, Dermot Murphy)

World premiere

Blinded By The Light

Review preview for Blinded By The Light

The film has a personal touch and an honesty that surpasses clever writing and naturalistic acting.

Angus Wolfe Murray · 5 out of 5
In 1987 during the austere days of Thatcher's Britain, a teenager learns to live life, understand his family and find his own voice through the music of Bruce Springsteen.

(Country: UK; Year: 2019; Director: Gurinder Chadha; Writer: Paul Mayeda Berges, Gurinder Chadha, Sarfraz Manzoor; Stars: Viveik Kalra, Hayley Atwell, Sally Phillips, Rob Brydon, Jonno Davies, Nina Kumar, Amer Chadha-Patel, Atul Sharma, Jag Patel, Kulvinder Ghir, Sofia Abbasi, Sonia Goswami, Lee Byford, Nell Williams, Billy Barratt, Tom Stocks)

Full review

World premiere

The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind

Against all the odds, a 13-year-old boy in Malawi invents an unconventional way to save his family and village from famine.

(Country: UK; Year: 2019; Director: Chiwetel Ejiofor; Writer: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Bryan Mealer, based on the true story of William Kamkwamba; Stars: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Maxwell Simba, Lily Banda, Noma Dumezweni, Aissa Maiga, Joseph Marcell)

World premiere. Salt Lake City Opening Night

Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil And Vile

Review preview for Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil And Vile

By avoiding serial cliches, director Joe Berlinger touches on a different level of revelation.

Angus Wolfe Murray · 4 out of 5
A chronicle of the crimes of Ted Bundy from the perspective of Liz, his longtime girlfriend, who refused to believe the truth about him for years.

(Country: US; Year: 2019; Director: Joe Berlinger; Writer: Michael Werwie; Stars: Zac Efron, Haley Joel Osment, Lily Collins, Kaya Scodelario, John Malkovich, Jeffrey Donovan, Jim Parsons, Angela Sarafyan, Dylan Baker, Brian Geraghty, Terry Kinney, Grace Victoria Cox, James Hetfield, Joe Berlinger, Brandon Trost)

Full review

World premiere

I Am Mother

In the wake of humanity’s extinction, a teenage girl is raised by a robot designed to repopulate the earth. But their unique bond is threatened when a stranger arrives with alarming news.

(Country: Australia; Year: 2019; Director: Grant Sputore; Writer: Michael Lloyd Green; Stars: Clara Rugaard, Rose Byrne, Hilary Swank)

World premiere

Late Night

Review preview for Late Night

Memo to filmmakers: If you’re looking for a failsafe plan to make a delightful film, try showcasing the breadth of Emma Thompson’s talents.

Jeremy Mathews · 4 out of 5
A late-night talk show host’s world is turned upside down when she hires her only female staff writer. Originally intended to smooth over diversity concerns, her decision has unexpectedly hilarious consequences as the two women separated by culture and generation are united by their love of a biting punchline.

(Country: US; Year: 2019; Director: Nisha Ganatra; Writer: Mindy Kaling; Stars: Emma Thompson, Amy Ryan, John Lithgow, Mindy Kaling, Denis O'Hare, Max Casella, Hugh Dancy, Megalyn Echikunwoke, Reid Scott, Paul Walter Hauser, Faith Logan, John Early, Doris McCarthy, Billy Peck, Luke Slattery)

Full review

World premiere

The Mustang

While participating in a rehabilitation program training wild mustangs, a convict at first struggles to connect with the horses and his fellow inmates, but learns to confront his violent past as he soothes an especially feisty horse.

(Country: France, US; Year: 2019; Director: Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre; Writer: Mona Fastvold, Brock Norman Brock, Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre; Stars: Connie Britton, Matthias Schoenaerts, Bruce Dern, Josh Stewart, Gideon Adlon, Jason Mitchell, Santina Muha, Kelly Richardson, Jasmeet Baduwalia, Heath Hensley, Ronnie Yelverton, Jack Waggon, Josh Manzer, Glenn Spillman, Devin Marigny)

World premiere

Official Secrets

Review preview for Official Secrets

There’s a refreshing straight-forwardness to Gavin Hood’s Official Secrets.

Jeremy Mathews · 4 out of 5
The true story of British Intelligence whistleblower Katharine Gun, who prior to the 2003 Iraq invasion leaked a top-secret memo.

(Country: US; Year: 2019; Director: Gavin Hood; Writer: Sara Bernstein, Gregory Bernstein, Gavin Hood; Stars: Keira Knightley, Matthew Goode, Ralph Fiennes, Matt Smith, Rhys Ifans, Indira Varma, MyAnna Buring, Jack Farthing, Conleth Hill, Tamsin Greig, Hattie Morahan, Shaun Dooley, Ray Panthaki, Monica Dolan, Kenneth Cranham)

Full review

World premiere

Paddleton

An unlikely friendship between two misfit neighbours becomes an unexpectedly emotional journey when the younger man is diagnosed with terminal cancer.

(Country: US; Year: 2019; Director: Alex Lehmann; Writer: Alex Lehmann; Stars: Mark Duplass, Ray Romano, Ravi Patel, Christine Woods)

World premiere

Photograph

Review preview for Photograph

Everything about Batra's film is constructed around longing.

Amber Wilkinson · 3.5 out of 5
Two lives intersect in Mumbai and go along together. A struggling street photographer, pressured to marry by his grandmother, convinces a shy stranger to pose as his fiancée. The pair develops a connection that transforms them in ways that they could not expect.

(Country: India; Year: 2019; Director: Ritesh Batra; Writer: Ritesh Batra; Stars: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Sanya Malhotra, Farrukh Jaffar, Abdul Quadir Amin, Denzil Smith, Saharsh Kumar Shukla, Ashok Pathak, Sunil Shakya, Robin Das, Sanjay Kumar Sonu,)

Full review See: Interview with Ritesh Batra about Photograph

World premiere

Relive

After a man’s family dies in what appears to be a murder, he gets a phone call from one of the dead, his niece. He’s not sure if she’s a ghost or if he’s going mad — but as it turns out, he’s not. Instead, her calls help him rewrite history.

(Country: US; Year: 2019; Director: Jacob Estes; Writer: Jacob Estes, Drew Daywalt; Stars: David Oyelowo, Storm Reid, Mykelti Williamson, Alfred Molina, Bryan Tyree Henry)

World premiere

The Report

Review preview for The Report

The problem with The Report is that despite this ongoing relevance, its powerful subject matter, the capable cast and an impressive script, it never builds up the impetus it ought to have.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
The story of Daniel Jones, lead investigator for the US Senate’s sweeping study into the CIA’s Detention and Interrogation Program, which was found to be brutal, immoral and ineffective. With the truth at stake, Jones battled tirelessly to make public what many in power sought to keep hidden.

(Country: US; Year: 2019; Director: Scott Z Burns; Writer: Scott Z Burns; Stars: Tim Blake Nelson, Adam Driver, Jennifer Morrison, Jon Hamm, Maura Tierney, Michael C Hall, Ted Levine, Annette Bening, Matthew Rhys, Ben McKenzie, Sarah Goldberg, Noah Bean, Carlos Gómez, Daniel London, Linda Powell)

Full review

World premiere

Sonja - The White Swan

The true story of one of the world's greatest athletes and the inventor of modern figure skating, Sonja Henie, who took Hollywood by storm in the 1930s, sacrificing everything to stay in the spotlight.

(Country: Norway; Year: 2019; Director: Anne Sewitsky; Writer: Mette M Bølstad, Andreas Markusson; Stars: Ine Marie Wilmann, Valene Kane, Eldar Skar, Anders Mordal, Anneke von der Lippe, Aidan McArdle, Malcolm Adams, Pål Sverre Hagen, Ine Marie Wilmann, Valene Kane, Eldar Skar, Anders Mordal, Anneke von der Lippe, Aidan McArdle, Malcolm Adams)

World premiere

The Sunlit Night

Between New York City and the far north of Norway, an American painter and a Russian émigré find each other in the Arctic circle. Together under a sun that never sets, they discover a future and family that they didn't know they had.

(Country: Germany, Norway; Year: 2019; Director: David Wnendt; Writer: Rebecca Dinnerstein; Stars: Jenny Slate, Gillian Anderson, Zach Galifianakis, Jessica Hecht, Alex Sharp, Cindy Cheung, Justus von Dohnányi, Dan Puck, Kelly Abbondanzo, Alberto Bonilla, Laren England, Stephanie Mareen, Natalie Rosati, Jenny Slate, Gillian Anderson)

World premiere

The Tomorrow Man

Ed Hemsler spends his life preparing for a disaster that may never come. Ronnie Meisner spends her life shopping for things she may never use. In a small town somewhere in America, these two people will try to find love while trying not to get lost in each other’s stuff.

(Country: US; Year: 2019; Director: Noble Jones; Writer: Noble Jones; Stars: John Lithgow, Blythe Danner, Derek Cecil, Katie Aselton, Sophie Thatcher, Eve Harlow, Wendy Makkena, John Lithgow, Blythe Danner, Derek Cecil, Katie Aselton, Sophie Thatcher, Eve Harlow, Wendy Makkena)

World premiere

Top End Wedding

Review preview for Top End Wedding

Blair's sharp injection of pace helps to zip past any cliches so fast that you don't have much time to register them.

Amber Wilkinson · 3.5 out of 5
A couple mount a hunt for a bride-to-be's AWOL mum, so that they can can tie the knot.

(Country: Australia; Year: 2019; Director: Wayne Blair; Writer: Miranda Tapsell, Joshua Tyler; Stars: Miranda Tapsell, Gwilym Lee, Kerry Fox, Huw Higginson, Travis Jeffery, Shari Sebbens, Ursula Yovich, Elaine Crombie, Matt Crook, Atmiya Patel, Taylor Wiese, Dalara Williams, Gwilym Lee, Kerry Fox, Miranda Tapsell)

Full review See: Miranda Tapsell, Gwilym Lee, Wayne Blair and Joshua Tyler talk about Top End Wedding

World premiere

Troop Zero

Review preview for Troop Zero

What really matters is the positive energy - from the scripting to the lively colour scheme, there's a sense of maximum fun being had by all concerned at all times.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
A young girl founds a girl scout troop in a bid to win a NASA competition.

(Country: US; Year: 2019; Director: Bert and Bertie; Writer: Lucy Alibar, Lucy Alibar; Stars: Mckenna Grace, Allison Janney, Viola Davis, Mike Epps, Jim Gaffigan, Edi Patterson, Charlie Shotwell, Maureen Brennan, Zach Mooney, Ashley Brooke, Eric Bell Jr., Johanna Colón, James W. Evermore, Rebecca Chulew, Kenneth Wayne Bradley)

Full review

World premiere. Closing night

Velvet Buzzsaw

A thriller set in the contemporary art world scene of Los Angeles, where big money artists and mega-collectors pay a high price when art collides with commerce.

(Country: US; Year: 2019; Director: Dan Gilroy; Writer: Dan Gilroy; Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Billy Magnussen, Toni Collette, John Malkovich, Natalia Dyer, Rene Russo, Daveed Diggs, Zawe Ashton, Peter Gadiot, Tom Sturridge, Pisay Pao, Andrea Marcovicci, James Paxton, Pat Healy, Sydney Lemmon)

World premiere