It’s hard to balance warmth, humor, and a subject most wouldn’t even begin to know how to tackle, but writer-director Nikole Beckwith does so with ease, heart, and authenticity, all while subverting expectations of familiar tropes. Filled with meaningful exchanges…
Sundance 2021: ‘Mass’ addresses healing in the wake of tragedy in an intimate space
Mass, the feature film debut of writer-director Fran Kranz, is a brutally honest exploration of the people who are affected (and often forgotten) in the aftermath of a school shooting. Mass tackles the raw emotions of its characters and works…
Sundance 2021: ‘Superior’ explores the duality and influences behind identity
Back at the Sundance Film Festival with her feature film debut, director and co-writer Erin Vassilopoulos expands upon her 2015 short film of the same name. Superior tantalizes in its study of identity, employing real-life identical twins Alessandra Mesa (who…
Sundance 2021: ‘Passing’ is a complex exploration of racial identity
In her debut as a writer-director, Rebecca Hall chose to adapt Nella Larsen’s celebrated 1929 novel. Passing draws from Larsen’s personal experiences as a biracial woman and Hall (who is also biracial) presents a drama fraught with explorations of identity…
Sundance 2021: ‘How it Ends’ tackles the end of the world with only some success
There is no shortage of films about the end of the world, but Daryl Wein and Zoe Lister-Jones’ How it Ends offers a bright, somewhat optimistic spin on the tired trope. No one is running or panicking about the approach…
‘Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom’ review: August Wilson’s play comes to life in vivid detail
Adapting a play into a movie isn’t always easy, but you wouldn’t know that from watching director George C. Wolfe’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. Based on August Wilson’s 1984 play (with a screenplay by Ruben Santiago-Hudson), the film is poignant,…
‘Wild Mountain Thyme’ review: Romance is lost amid inconsistent storytelling
Wild Mountain Thyme is a wildly imbalanced ride from start to finish. It begins with scenic views of Ireland: gorgeous green meadows settling into the foreground of a serene countryside. The calmness is quickly interrupted by a voiceover from Christopher…
