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Tag: tribeca film festival 2023

  • What Tribeca Tells Us About Movies: Everybody Wants to be Healed

    What Tribeca Tells Us About Movies: Everybody Wants to be Healed

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    Tribeca Film Festival took place in New York City from June 7th to 18th. With celebratory ceremonies, fascinating film premieres, and even the announcement of the upcoming De Niro Con — it was a jampacked two weeks for filmmakers and film lovers alike.

    All over the city, fans scrambled to access rush screenings, catch a glimpse of their favorite actors strutting along makeshift sidewalk red carpets, and spot said celebs at popular downtown eateries and bars. Honestly, this is what living in New York is generally like, with celebrity events and premieres happening every day. But for two weeks, the excitement was concentrated in Tribeca.

    And there I was, in the thick of it. Between tearing from screening rooms to AMC theatres, it’s easy to get swept up in managing the logistics and stress. Darting from show to show and scouring unknown neighborhoods for lunch spots, life as a writer and reviewer at Tribeca is far from glamorous. But after viewing a heaping slate of Tribeca’s selection of films, I was able to parse out some common themes.

    What were the best films at Tribeca Film Festival?

    With thousands of films submitted each year, the films Tribeca Festival selects are always the cream of the crop. Tribeca 2023 highlighted 109 feature films helmed by 127 filmmakers spanning 36 countries. Within the lineup, 93 showings were world premieres, there was one international premiere, 8 North American premieres, one U.S. premiere, and 6 New York premieres.

    The festival is also a competition, with filmmakers competing for recognition in the following categories:

    • U.S. Narrative
    • International Narrative
    • Documentary
    • Shorts

    There are special categories like Human/Nature and the Nora Ephron Award, plus categories for music, audio storytelling, games, and XR.

    Major winners at Tribeca Film Festival 2023 include:

    • Cypher (US): Tierra Whack stars in Chris Moukarbel’s Best US Narrative winner, one of the major honors of the night. With the jury saying: “For its kaleidoscopic use of music, created imagery and found materials, in service of an interrogation of celebrity, conspiracy culture and the nature of narrative reality itself.”
    • Smoking Tigers (US): So Young Shelly Yo was awarded many-many honors for this feature, including Best Screenplay in a U.S. Narrative Feature, Best Performance in a U.S. Narrative Feature for Ji-Young Yoo for Smoking Tigers, and the Nora Ephron Award Special Jury Mention. The jury commented: “This screenplay pulled us into its leading characters, making us care deeply about their pasts and futures. It skillfully juggled multiple storylines and journeys with nuance, emotional honesty, deft sequencing until the final beautiful scene.”
    • Between the Rains (Kenya): Creators Andrew H. Brown and Moses Thuranira were awarded Best Documentary Feature and Best Cinematography in a Documentary Feature. Comments from the Jury mentioned: “For craft, storytelling, impact — and above all a raw, elegant coming-of-age portrait of resilience that unanimously blew us away.” And . . . “Combining the patience and elegance of portraiture — with the immediacy of observational cinema verite — this cinematographer truly transported us into a rarely seen world.”
    • A Strange Path (Brazil): This received literally all the awards for International Narratives. Yes, all four of them! It was awarded: Best International Narrative Feature, Best Performance in an International Narrative Feature for Carlos Francisco, Best Screenplay in an International Narrative Feature for Guto Parente, and Best Cinematography in an International Narrative Feature for Linga Acácio.
    • Mountains (US): Monica Sorelle received the U.S. Narrative Feature Special Jury Mention for this film’s “authentic, specific portrayal of a culture we had not seen on screen. A deeply emotional and empathetic portrait of a family in a changing world with brilliant leading performances.”

    What were the Tribeca Film Festival 2023’s major themes?

    After enduring a barrage of press about sensationalized (but subpar) works at festivals like Cannes — I’m talking about The Idol, of course — witnessing the celebration of thoughtful, transformative pieces at Tribeca felt rare. And since art reflects our life and times, the themes of major Tribeca films offer us a glimpse into the zeitgeist.

    It’s interesting to note that, despite films starring mega names like Jon Hamm, Tina Fey, and Nick Jonas, the work that received the highest honors were those with highly developed characters and stories.

    When surveying the big winners, it appears that the jury was most compelled by stories that dealt with identity, belonging, and an immersive sense of place. A Strange Path was lauded for how it “radiated a magnetic realism,” which can be applied to many of the winners.

    Smoking Tigers is intimate and immediate, painting a lush portrait of a singular experience that — due to the expert wielding of perspective — feels inviting to the viewer. This sense of “magnetic realism” emanates from the characters (for whom we feel so much empathy), as well as the place, which becomes as emotionally potent to us as it does for the characters.

    Cypher manages to evoke that feeling while being an experimental, surrealist portrait that blends fact and fiction. It manages this ambitious feat by drawing on Tierra Whack’s own charisma as a character so the viewer is anchored to the fast-moving world we’re plunged into.

    All these films demonstrate a viewer’s desire to connect with compelling places and characters — the fundamentals of film that can get lost amidst the grind of the Marvel machine and celeb-driven cash grabs.

    Even amongst the festival-wide programming, connection was a theme that binds many of the films together. Particularly, reunion after being distanced, and reconnection after a death. Since the festival’s closing, I’ve been mulling over the vast number of films and the judges’ verdicts. And I’ve been thinking about the common themes raised by this year’s lineup.

    What keeps coming back to me is the idea of healing. While there wasn’t a preponderance of “Covid” films, many had a post-Covid resonance.

    Films about returning to your childhood home. About feeling isolated. About grief. About reconciling with family — anyone who lived at home or lost a loved one during the pandemic can relate. Indeed, sitting in Q&As with writers and directors after some screenings, fellow audience members shared stories about their own losses and their own homecomings. In the dark of those theaters, audiences made sense of our own lives from the perspectives of the characters on the screen — a testament to fine cinema.

    And while a number of these films are imperfect, many of the characters predictable, and the narratives too linear, I think it indicates that we’ve reached the first wave (no pun intended) of Covid narratives. These stories aren’t directly about viruses or lockdowns. Instead, they’re about how living through two years defined by distance has shaped us, and is still shaping us, socially, psychologically, and emotionally.

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    LKC

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  • “The Lesson” Review: Killing Your Darlings — And Your Heroes, Too

    “The Lesson” Review: Killing Your Darlings — And Your Heroes, Too

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    Spoiler alert: This review contains spoilers for the film The Lesson

    A friend — another writer, because we masochists have to stick together — tells me she’s not worried about her novel. This is a different tune than she’d been singing all year as she works on this mammoth project that every writer dreads, yet flirts with: writing her first book.

    What’s changed? I ask. Turns out — she tells me — all the writers she’s researched say the same thing: you’re doomed to write a bad book in your twenties, then either bury it and never look at it again or completely rewrite it years later. But the bad first novel is crucial. It means you’ve had the discipline face the screen for months, even years. It means you’ve written a book. But a bad first novel removes the agony of showing it to anyone.

    Of course, there are exceptions. But for most writers, the first book won’t be a masterpiece. It’s a jumping-off point — a dock at the edge of a pond.

    This is what Liam Sommers (played by Daryl McCormack, who received a BAFTA nomination for Good Luck to You, Leo Grande) learns in The Lesson. At one point Liam rips up his first novel and hurls it to the bottom of a pond — and that’s not even the film’s climax.

    What is The Lesson about?

    The Lesson follows Liam during a formative summer. He’s just graduated from Oxford University, he’s hired by his favorite writer — J.M. Sinclair (Richard E. Grant) — to tutor his son, Bertie (Stephen McMillan).

    Liam gets a front-row seat to their family drama, learning what makes everyone tick, and what not to mention. He’s even invited into his hero’s inner literary sanctum. Of course, this is where it all begins to unravel.

    THE LESSON | Official Trailer | Bleecker Streetwww.youtube.com

    What happens in The Lesson?

    Liam soon finds himself embroiled with each family member. He becomes Bertie’s confidant and Mr. Sinclair’s editor. And, later, Mrs. Sinclair (Julie Delpy) — known only to Liam as Hélène — becomes Liam’s lover. As he swept up in the middle of the Sinclairs’ lives, he finds a renewed passion for his own project: his own first novel that he had previously abandoned and, by the middle of the film, finally finishes.

    The Lesson is a tale about writers writing, and the agony of it — not merely the act of scribbling on a page (Liam writes longhand, of course) but the tenuousness of your art being perceived — especially by those you idolize. Liam confronts these fears when he shares his novel with Sinclair. It’s then he discovers these fears of the nascent author are what killed Sinclair’s eldest son.

    We learn, as Liam learns, that the eldest Sinclair boy, Felix, had also aspired to be a writer. And his father’s ceaseless criticisms were the likely cause of his suicide in the family’s pond. As the summer goes on, Liam fits into the family almost as if he’s their lost son — there’s a scene where Liam borrows some of Felix’s old clothes.

    Playing this role of pseudo-son, the story takes on an Oedipal framework as Liam grows disillusioned by Sinclair, as a writer, a father, and as Hélène’s lover and partner.

    Richard E Grant, Julie Delpy, Stephen McMillan, and Daryl McCormack in The Lessonvia Falco Ink

    Is The Lesson good?

    Like the Oedipal myth, much of this film relies on oft-used literary tropes to spring conflict upon the cast rather than building tension and character. Instead, much of the film is spent admiring the elegant manor and the beautiful countryside and yearning — just like Liam — to go for a swim in the old pond.

    The final third features much of the conflict — and the majority of action — which makes the film feel unevenly paced. As a viewer, you wish there was less fluff and distraction. Considering Bertie’s lack of development — beyond the stereotypical sullen teenage — the relationship between Liam and Hélène feels especially trite. Viewers aren’t privilege Bertie’s own motives — the film only reveals Bertie as his father views him: a boy unable to get out from under his brother’s shadow.

    Liam’s character is similarly hard to parse, as he’s caught between the role of participant and observer. As a novelist, you’d think the film would give him a wider perspective. We understand that he’s a Sinclair fanboy, he’s obsessed with rewatching Sinclair’s speeches in the opening scenes, and he even wrote his thesis on Sinclair. And we understand that he is a writer, talented, too. Other questions are raised but not answered: how did he actually become a tutor? What does he want from life?

    The ending feels neat and wrapped up. But a more satisfying ending would be one in which we better understand our protagonist — did he achieve what he set out to do? Was it worth it? Or is he destined to repeat the sins of his pseudo-father?

    With greater insight into Liam’s internal motivations, the film would overcome and surpass cliches. However, it’s the world-class performances by both McCormack and Grant that transcend these drawbacks and makes the battles of this pretentious pair captivating. All I wanted was more.

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    LKC

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  • “Cold Copy” Review: Tracee Ellis Ross’s Magnetic Personality Buoys Flaccid Film Noir

    “Cold Copy” Review: Tracee Ellis Ross’s Magnetic Personality Buoys Flaccid Film Noir

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    When you think of Tracee Ellis Ross, you think of her big hair (shoutout to Pattern Beauty) and her big smile. You might even think of her mother, Diana Ross, although Tracee’s one of the rare, iconic nepo babies who has managed to forge a spectacular career separate from her famous parent.

    However, in her latest role as powerhouse journalist Diane Heger in Tribeca Film Festival’s Cold Copy, Ross is unrecognizable — and not just due to of her black hair and bangs. Known for comedic roles like Black-ish, Girlfriends, and The High Note, Ross is an expert at leveraging her larger-than-life personality for laughs.

    In Cold Copy, she uses her undeniable presence as Heger strikes fear into the hearts of aspiring journalism students who want to follow in her footsteps as a successful media personality and host of her own show. This is where we meet Mia Scott — indelibly rendered by Bel Powley. Scott is a budding journalist, eager to impress her hero and succeed at any cost.

    Early in the film, Mia’s sitting with her roommate and best friend, discussing their hopes and dreams. Classic weekday night for college students. “What else is there?” Scott muses about the value of success. And the rest of the film shows her clawing and climbing to the top, making enemies, and losing friends on the way.

    Written and directed by Roxine Helberg, this female-helmed film noir has a predictable plot but is saved by its captivating cast. The story struggles to justify its characters’ motives with high enough stakes, making Scott’s actions seem desperate and unanchored, though well-rendered by Powley. Yet, despite the uneven script and stilted pacing, Ross and Powley make a compelling duo.

    “What do people see when they look at us?” Heger asks Scott in the film’s second act. A teacher and student? A mother and daughter, she proposes. Lovers, even? It’s all about perception, is the lesson Heger’s imparting. And, as journalists, it’s all about perspective.

    But for a film about perspective, about insight, it doesn’t hold much of its own. Some themes, like the price of success, are raised, but the message is unclear. The ending, too, raises more questions than it answers.

    Like Mia Scott, the film is desperately clawing for a storyline, for meaning, but can’t quite reach it. And, like Scott, the charismatic actors in front of the lens are more substantive than the flimsy tale they’re weaving.

    What results is a satisfying watch but so unsurprising. It’s a mixture of Tar and Miss Sloane, but without the intensity of either. Although the plot’s overly familiar, the visuals are sharp and the casting choices are fantastic. Backed by brilliant acting and an undercurrent of intriguing questions, it’s worth your time.

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    LKC

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  • ‘The Adults’ Review: ‘Succession’ for Theatre Kids

    ‘The Adults’ Review: ‘Succession’ for Theatre Kids

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    “Wait, is he the actor in Molly’s Game?” I ask myself as I watch Michael Cera in The Adults as he obnoxiously wins a poker game — making enemies of everyone at the table.

    But he wasn’t the actor in Molly’s Game. I’m thinking of Jesse Eisenberg, a quick Google search tells me — a different awkward white boy playing that same type. Of that set of indie film darlings, Michael Cera is best known as the one from Superbad. Or as the one who does theatre. The latter is why he is so fitting for his role as Eric in The Adults.

    In this film, Cera’s character plays the eldest — and most estranged — of three strange siblings. He’s visiting his hometown for a quick trip, he insists. He’s here to meet a good friend’s baby, he tells everyone, and hang out with a few of the old gang. Out of obligation, he stops by to see his sisters. We know their relationships are strained before we even meet Rachel (Hannah Gross) and Maggie (Sophia Lillis). One lives in their childhood home alone and the other recently dropped out of college.

    Poker? We get scenes and scenes of it — hence my Molly’s Game musings. Plot? There’s not a ton of that. Just the grappling for connection and the messy reforging of a sibling bond.

    What makes this movie different and dynamic is one key element: these siblings love to sing. Their family dynamic is like if the Succession kids went to theatre camp. The little we learn about their childhood comes through songs and skits they made up as children and then turn to as adults in order to process their trauma. Maggie, the youngest, is dying to return to a time when things were simpler and they all got along by singing. Rachel is cynical and cold to Michael, which comes to a head in a visceral fight in the third act.

    Until then, we learn about the siblings through the harmonized songs and accompanying dances from their childhood. We find out about Eric’s passion for poker — which is really his appetite for power and winning that’s reflected in his familial relationship. And we watch as Eric extends his trip day after day, breaking down wall after wall, until you wonder if he might just stay.

    Audiences will certainly relate to something in this tapestry of suburbia: house parties where everyone knows everyone, catching up with old friends or family members after far too long, and laughing at inside jokes with the people you grew up with. Theatre kids — like Cera himself — will identify with the eclectic sibling bunch and their catalog of childhood songs. And anyone with a strained family relationship will definitely see themselves in this misfit bunch.

    With The Adults, writer-director Dustin Guy Defa has created an immersive world and a nuanced family unit that sits at the heart of it. This is a film that screams “INDIE MOVIE” — and it feels like it’s made by and for audiences that are seeking just that.

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    LKC

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  • ‘Maggie Moore(s)’ Review: Jon Hamm, Tina Fey, and Not Much Else

    ‘Maggie Moore(s)’ Review: Jon Hamm, Tina Fey, and Not Much Else

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    Everybody loves a juicy murder mystery. The True Crime boom proves it. So does the spectacular success of shows like Dahmer, Only Murders in the Building, and Peacock’s latest… Based on a True Story.

    SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers for Maggie Moore(s)

    In every media form, fictional or fact, creators aim to capture society’s curiosity for the twisted and morbid. Biopics like the American Crime Story series or Zac Efron’s performance as Ted Bundy in Incredibly Wicked and Vile are all the rage, capitalizing on this fervor despite some concerns about the ethics of this obsession. For many psychological thrillers, slapstick comedies and dramedies murder is the business.

    No exception to the rule, Tribeca Film Festival saw the premiere of Maggie Moore(s), a dark comedy about the murder of two women both named Maggie Moore. Despite its title, the film is really about Jon Hamm’s character, Jordan Sanders, the police chief in a small New Mexico town.

    Hamm’s character is mourning his wife’s death, but tentatively taking steps to venture back into the dating world. Naturally, he looks for advice from his jocular deputy (Santosh Govindaraju). Between failed dates and days dealing with petty crimes, Hamm’s life is much like the desert town: uneventful.

    That is until the first Maggie Moore gets murdered. And then the second. Suddenly, Hamm’s embroiled in a mess of a police chase while viewers get behind-the-scenes access to the wacky cast of characters cooking up the scam.

    The eclectic cast makes Maggie Moore(s) an enjoyable watch. That and John Slattery’s keen directorial eye. The actual murder plot takes a back seat to the distinctive, at-times-cartoonish, characters who run around wreaking havoc.

    Of course, Tina Fey is a stand out here. Fey plays Rita – a nosy neighbor of one of the Maggie Moores. A recent divorcee, she’s hankering for company — first from Moore, then from Sanders. Fey is redemption for the nosy neighbor trope, as she finds herself helping with the case and starting a relationship with Hamm.

    The scenes between Hamm and Fey — and any scene with Govindaraju — make the most compelling case for Maggie Moore(s). In an enjoyable yet unsurprising journey to catch the man who murdered the lamentable Maggie Moores, the rest is ambient noise.

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    LKC

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  • “The Line” Review: White on White Violence — Alex Wolff and Austin Abrams In a Portrait of Privilege

    “The Line” Review: White on White Violence — Alex Wolff and Austin Abrams In a Portrait of Privilege

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    In The Line — the latest film by Ethan Berger, starring Alex Wolff, Lewis Pullman, Halle Bailey, Austin Abrams, Angus Cloud, Scoot McNairy, John Malkovich, Bo Mitchell, and Denise Richards — a group of fraternity brothers experience a turbulent pledge season.

    SPOILER ALERT: THE FOLLOWING INCLUDES SPOILERS FOR THE FILM THE LINE

    What follows is just what you’d expect: a ton of homophobic and racist language, a culture of privilege, rampant misogyny, and — of course — the ubiquitous, unchecked male aggression. However, there are unexpected moments, too — Halle Bailey’s incandescent (but all too brief) performance, the surprising empathy we feel for Tom (Wolff), and the death that occurs in the third act.

    In many ways, it’s a classic movie about fraternities, hazing, and toxic masculinity so it lets its characters off easy. But, in part, that’s the point, too. The film was intensely researched by Berger and his co-writer Alex Russek, which is evident in its attention to crucial details.

    It’s a visceral portrait sharpened by expertly crafted details. From the familiar frat boy wardrobe, the 2014 soundtrack, and the rich characters, Berger creates a world that feels immediate. Real. And terrifying. The result? A profoundly unsettling movie that will stay with you long after you leave the theater.

    What’s The Line about?

    It’s about a fictional fraternity — Kappa Nu Alpha — at Sumpter College, a fictional college in the south. It follows Tom (played by Alex Wolff), a lower-income student with a single mother, who is entering his sophomore year. After a summer working a service job in his home state of Florida, Tom’s eager to return to life that being a KNA brother promises: connections, escapism, and a room tricked out with the full “Martha Stewart” treatment and the latest tech, all courtesy of his roommate and best friend, Mitch (Bo Mitchell).

    Tom’s friendship with Mitch is central to the film. Mitch’s dad is the owner of Piggly Wiggly and offers Tom an internship proclaiming that it’s important to “align yourself with the best.” While Tom holds the leadership chops important to their frat president, Tom’s deeply insecure about his lack of connections and family money.

    This becomes apparent as the new pledge class begins initiation. Soon, Mitch goes to war with a star pledge, Gettys O’Brian (Austin Abrams). Unimpressed by the pledge’s attitude, Mitch lashes out and lights the fuse that forms the film’s central conflict.

    At some point, Gettys says, “I would rather be an asshole than a loser.” This illustrates Tom’s struggle to fit in at the expense of his morals and his desires — particularly his attraction to Annabelle (Halle Bailey).

    Alex Wolff and Halle Bailey in The Linevia Tribeca Film Festival

    The Line had its World Premiere on June 9th at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York, garnering critical acclaim for the searing story and shattering performances by Wolff, Mitchell, and Abrams.

    Is The Line good?

    In an interview with Salon, Director, Ethan Berger said: “Maybe the film will force [people who participate in fraternity culture] to ask themselves if it was worth it — whether this institution that they pledged allegiance to has an allegiance to them? I’m not looking to answer anything, just provoke questions.”

    The Line successfully raises a web of questions and creates characters that further complicate those questions. It’s not simply a flat indictment of every “frat boy.” We feel genuine empathy for Wolff’s character as we join him on his journey. There’s the painfully accurate portrayal of freshman bravado and insecurity. (This reminded me of Bo Burnham’s 8th Grade — another film that’s too humiliatingly true to look away from.) And there’s all the minutiae that goes into creating a world that doesn’t come off as trite.

    What makes it distinct are the details. From Tom’s sartorial signifiers — boat shoes and vests when he’s deep in the brotherhood contrasted with a faded hoodie and slides when he is disillusioned — to the constant, casual bigotry displayed by the brothers, Berger plunges us into an immersive world that (purposefully) makes our skin crawl.

    The acting is similarly immersive.

    Wolff, known for playing mild-mannered boys in drowsy indies (and, of course, The Naked Brothers Band), completely transforms for this role. A buzzcut and a “fake Forrest Gump accent” are just the start of this fantastic transformation. Wolff gives an achingly intense performance, especially in scenes with Bailey or Abrams. He plays off his castmates and deftly delivers both the high moments — giving a rousing speech to the pledges — and the low moments — holding back tears in the interrogation room.

    The Line is a memorable journey that will resonate long after the final credits roll. In the hierarchy of fraternity films, it’s easily number one with a bullet.

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    LKC

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  • ‘The Good Half’ Review: Nick Jonas and Brittany Snow Are Heartbreaking and Heartwarming

    ‘The Good Half’ Review: Nick Jonas and Brittany Snow Are Heartbreaking and Heartwarming

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    Nick Jonas is on a roll. He’s in the middle of The Jonas Brothers’ THE TOUR (think their version of Taylor’s Era tour, where they perform 5 of their albums in one night). He just appeared in Love Again as a secondary character alongside his wife, Priyanka Chopra. And now, he’s starring in The Good Half, an indie dramedy that premiered at Tribeca Film Festival on June 8th.

    Written by Brett Ryland and directed by Robert Schwartzman, the film is a tale of grief that sees its creators pouring out their personal experiences to connect with audiences on its universal themes. And hopefully, get them to crack a smile.

    The story is a familiar one: a family comes together in the wake of a tragedy and strained relationships (in this case, the one between a brother and sister) heal as they learn to accept their loss. The message is familiar too: that grief is not linear and that families leave too much unsaid.

    Nick Jonas in The Good Halfvia Tribea Film Festival

    What’s most surprising is Nick Jonas’s performance as the leading man. Playing the joke-cracking, emotionally avoidant protagonist, Renn, Jonas is magnetic — making an otherwise unmemorable (and potentially unlikable) character easy to love.

    Jonas’s character has few distinguishable features. The script gives him a good balance of comedic and contemplative moments, and Jonas plays them all perfectly. He leans into Renn’s emotional distance and what emerges is a character who is flawed, but sympathetic.

    The story takes him through the motions of preparing for his mother’s funeral and taking steps to fix the strained relationships with his father and sister while building a new relationship with Zoey (Alexandra Shipp), a girl he met on the plane.

    The themes of grief and nostalgia are countered by the budding relationship between Jonas and Shipp’s characters. Their exchanges are funny and light, but their chemistry feels more playful and platonic than romantic. With not much to anchor Zoey’s character on, the moments she appears feel like plot devices. Their conversations — including a well-done monologue by Jonas in which he finally admits his griefs, a moment that should feel intimate and powerful — feel like convenient vehicles for Renn’s growth. And while he is finding escape in Zoey, the abrupt tonal shift between their scenes and the rest of the film makes the film feel like a collage instead of a cohesive story.

    Nick Jonas and Alexandra Shipp in The Good Halfvia Tribeca Film Festival

    The sibling relationship between Renn and Leigh (Brittany Snow), however, is the most compelling part of the film. From well-rendered sibling bickering and banter to an eventual catharsis, Jonas and Snow play off each other seamlessly. As a viewer, I wish the story had spent more time here, as a more developed version of Snow’s character would have made Renn’s emotional moments with her more weighty.

    This movie will exist in the canon as another Elizabethtown or Garden State wannabe — complete with the underdeveloped romantic interest who absorbs all of the protagonist’s trauma. But it’s an easy watch and a compelling case for Nick Jonas’s return to acting.

    I hope to see him in more roles like this, where he can show off his full range (because yes, he sings in The Good Half in a sweet karaoke scene). Do people still call it a “triple threat” when someone is great at singing, dancing, and acting? Because Nick Jonas has proven that he’s got what it takes.

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    LKC

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  • ‘Eric LaRue’ Review: After Soaring in Succession, Skarsgard Transforms in ‘Eric LaRue’

    ‘Eric LaRue’ Review: After Soaring in Succession, Skarsgard Transforms in ‘Eric LaRue’

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    There’s a lot to be said about Eric LaRue. It’s Michael Shannon’s directorial debut. It’s a meditative adaptation of Brett Neveu’s 2002 play. And it stars Judy Greer, Alison Pill, Tracy Letts, Paul Sparks, and a just about unrecognizable Alexander Skarsgård. The latter is what the film will undoubtedly be remembered for, but let’s start from the top.

    Eric LaRue premiered on June 10th at Tribeca Film Festival. This highly anticipated drama is a fresh perspective on a timely and important topic: gun violence. The film follows two parents (Greer and Skarsgård) whose son commits a school shooting. After murdering three of his high school peers, the title character Eric LaRue is sent to prison. In the aftermath, his parents struggle to repair and adjust to life without their son and as pariahs in their cookie-cutter suburban town.

    The film poses a number of questions. Whose to “blame” when such a shocking tragedy occurs? Who takes responsibility? How does a community heal? And what is our responsibility to ourselves?

    However, while the film provokes and prods, it doesn’t build avenues toward solutions. With nebulous questions that have no right answers, a film like this leans on its characters to raise and elaborate on the issues. Although the characters are compelling and entertaining — and well rendered by the actors — they aren’t complex enough to lead us toward an honest conversation about the film’s themes.

    Within the film itself, the characters attempt to have conversations among themselves. Most of these attempts are just that, with no results. And while this is intentional, when problems are repeatedly introduced nothing moves forward — the action is inert. For the viewer, Eric LaRue feel repetitive and monotonous. A shame, considering the astonishing direction, the striking cinematography, and powerhouse performances.

    As Michael Shannon’s directorial debut, this is a triumph. The actors interact with each other seamlessly. And the establishing shots of suburbia clue the viewer into this community’s rules and the enormity of the coming transgression. It’s also a career-defining role for Judy Greer — who plays the devastated mother, Janice LaRue. Her quest for answers and healing is portrayed with a brilliant blend of melancholy, torment, and messiness.

    However, the most memorable performance is by Skarsgård. It’s always a treat to see one of your favorite actors in a role where you barely recognize them. Skarsgård achieves this with phenomenal results.

    Fresh off a scene-stealing appearance in Succession as the eccentric — and often-shoeless — tech founder, Alexander Matsson, Skarsgård chalks up yet one more title to his already stacked filmography. This film, I think, will live on largely as an example of the actor’s extensive range.

    Rather than the charming, authoritative figures he often plays, Skarsgård transforms into Ron LaRue — an awkward and aimless father. Somehow he wrangles his giant Viking frame into khakis and flannel to bumble around the house. Skarsgård balances power and heartbreak — searching for himself as much as he’s searching for answers. We view him as Janice LaRue sees him: as lacking. And Skarsgard’s complete immersion in his role truly convinces us.

    Overall, Eric LaRue is a half-realized execution of a dynamic concept. Although the pacing is slow and stilted, those moments between characters are so riveting, you can’t look away.

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    LKC

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