Sundance Film Festival finally goes virtual
Every year, the transition week between January and February has allowed me the opportunity to do two things: live vicariously through coverage of the Sundance Film Festival and pine for the day when I will be able to experience it for myself. Unfortunately, reality suggests that day will not be arriving in the near or distant future. Neither financially nor physically, the average film lover cannot reasonably buy a pass, a plane ride and full accommodations for a less-than-week-long event in Utah. Which is why I never would have guessed this year I and the friends who joined me in buying a combined total of five $15 tickets for five films would be attending from the comfort of my living room couch.
Erin Vassilopoulos makes her directorial debut with a dramatic thriller about estranged twin sisters reuniting when one is in danger.
Much of Erin Vassilopoulos’ moody, something’s-wrong-in-the-suburbs directorial debut,
Superior, takes place in a Reagan-era Barbie Dreamhouse come to life. Within its mint and pink-punch walls live Vivian (Ani Mesa) and Michael (Jake Hoffman), a young couple who are dismayed when her estranged twin sister, Marian (Alessandra Mesa, Ani’s own twin), a touring rock musician, drops by unannounced during a thawing winter and asks to stay for a few days. On the run from a young man (Pico Alexander) who looks like he’s doing rockabilly-hitman cosplay with his slicked-back hair, too-shiny leather trench and ominous leather gloves, Marian dreams that he breaks into her sister’s home at night, calming the couple’s three huskies so he can finish what he started.
“Passing”
The versatility that Rebecca Hall has shown in front of the camera extends to her directorial debut, a mannered but enchanting study in appearances literal and symbolic. Adapted from Nella Larsen’s 1929 novel, “Passing” follows childhood friends whose unexpected reunion proves to be a mixed blessing. One (Tessa Thompson) resides in Harlem, where she is happily married to a doctor (André Holland); the other (Ruth Negga, showcasing a wide-eyed glamour befitting the silent-film era) is wed to a wealthy racist (Alexander Skarsgård) and presents as white. With time, their divergent identities coalesce and clash.
Hall captures “Passing” in creamy black and white, heightening the story’s emotions while miniaturizing its grandest implications. The film can feel a bit measured, but that only barely detracts from its loveliness.
Superior is Beautiful and Bland
Erin Vassilopoulos’ feature debut is meticulously designed but lacks the story to hold up its beauty.
Sundance Institute
A film’s style is crucial in establishing its tone and atmosphere, informing the viewer about what to expect, at least aesthetically. It can be a feast for the eyes and can transport the viewer into the film’s world. But unfortunately relying solely on style cannot save a movie. Such is the case with filmmaker
Erin Vassilopoulos’ feature debut,
Alessandra Mesa and Ani Mesa, this drama about identity relishes in its vibe and pushes the story to the side.
Passing
The indie film showcase s pandemic-era program also has directorial debuts by Jerrod Carmichael, Pascual Sisto and Questlove with his Black Woodstock documentary.
As Sundance director Tabitha Jackson s reign at the indie film festival gets well underway, the marquee indie U.S. film showcase has gone mostly online with a pandemic-era discovery lineup filled with work by women and BIPOC directors and more than half the 2021 program shot by first-time helmers.
For Jackson, the focus on debut feature directors underlines how, despite the COVID-19 crisis pausing film production in Hollywood and upending planning for Sundance s upcoming Jan. 28 to Feb. 3, 2021, edition, the marquee festival isn t playing it safe as it doubles down on revealing new independent voices to the world.