Keith Simanton's 25 Most Anticipated Films of Sundance, 2018
I've been fortunate enough to have been attending Sundance since 2001. I have to say this might be the best sight-unseen lineup that the talented festival programmers have ever put together. There are numerous films that were nearly on this long list, the bench is so deep. Lynne Ramsey/Joaquin Phoenix's "You Were Never Really Here" isn't here because I saw it in Cannes. I'll be interested to see if the edit has changed since then though. Also, my apologies to first-time directors for including mostly known contributors here. I hope to discover your films in Park City too.
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- DirectorDebra GranikStarsThomasin McKenzieBen FosterJeffery RifflardA father and his seventeen-year-old daughter are living an ideal existence in a vast urban park in Portland, Oregon when a small mistake derails their lives forever.Deb Granik came to Sundance in 2010 with "Winter's Bone," directing Jennifer Lawrence and John Hawkes to Oscar nominations. Can she do the same for another favorite actor of mine, the sublime Ben Foster?
- DirectorGus Van SantStarsJoaquin PhoenixJonah HillRooney MaraOn the rocky path to sobriety after a life-changing accident, John Callahan discovers the healing power of art, willing his injured hands into drawing hilarious, often controversial cartoons, which bring him a new lease on life.Even if it's wasn't Amazon Studios (which it is) I'd be wanting to see this film by Gus van Sant and a talented troupe of actors as they tackle numerous tough subjects. Based on a true story.
- DirectorDavid WainStarsFrank GingerichMorgan GingerichAnnette O'TooleIn the 1970s and '80s, National Lampoon's success and influence creates a new media empire overseen in part by the brilliant and troubled Douglas Kenney.As a person who used to buy National Lampoon and who laughed as hard as I've ever laughed reading it I'm very excited to see this talent-studded film. (The "Futile" poster, btw, is a takeoff of an infamous Lampoon cover where a dog had a pistol leveled at its head alongside the headline, "If You Don't Buy This Magazine We'll Kill This Dog.") I also loved the under-rated "They Came Together," the best thing that director David Wain has done so far. Forte in a serious turn is always worth watching.
- DirectorDavid ZellnerNathan ZellnerStarsRobert PattinsonMia WasikowskaDavid ZellnerIt's the Wild West, circa 1870. Samuel Alabaster, an affluent pioneer, ventures across the American frontier to marry the love of his life, Penelope. As his group traverses the west, the once-simple journey grows treacherous, blurring the lines between hero, villain and damsel.You should be interested in this film for many reasons. Brothers David and Nathan Zellner were last in Park City with "Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter." Or you could be a sucker for the Western genre, as I so hopelessly am. Or you could think that Robert Pattinson was brilliant in "The Rover" and "Good Time" or that you're hoping that Mia Wasikowska finally has the role that suits her best. Lots of reasons.
- DirectorJesse PeretzStarsChris O'DowdRose ByrneEthan HawkeAnnie (the long-suffering girlfriend of Duncan) has an unlikely transatlantic romance with once revered, now faded, singer-songwriter, Tucker Crowe, who also happens to be the subject of Duncan's musical obsession.Great actors swarm to great parts and here you have Rose Byrne, Chris O’ Dowd, and Ethan Hawke, so that's good. Jesse Peretz showed promise with "My Idiot Brother." Perhaps his adaptation of this Nick Hornby novel (always a good starting point) will prove to be a success.
- DirectorClaire McCarthyStarsDaisy RidleyMia QuineyCalum O'RourkeA reimagining of Hamlet, told from Ophelia's perspective.As a big fan of the Danish play and the guy who wrote it I'm intrigued to see how Shakespearean this is or if they're just going to leave the text behind. And it's got that Ridley person also. And Tom Felton as her brother Laertes and he's been very good in many things that weren't Harry Potter
- DirectorAmy ScottStarsHal AshbyNorman JewisonHaskell WexlerHal Ashby's obsessive genius led to an unprecedented string of Oscar®-winning classics, including Harold and Maude (1971), Shampoo and Being There. But as contemporaries Francis Ford Coppola, Scorsese and Spielberg rose to blockbuster stardom in the 1980s, Ashby's uncompromising nature played out as a cautionary tale of art versus commerce.As a person who has a hallowed "Hal Ashby" section of his DVD collection I'm not missing this for the world.
- DirectorDesiree AkhavanStarsChloë Grace MoretzSteven HauckQuinn ShephardIn 1993, a teenage girl is forced into a gay conversion therapy center by her conservative guardians.As much as I think the Chloe Grace Moretz is a classy, talented actress I'm extremely excited to see the next performance by Sasha Lane. Lane was the stunning lead in "American Honey" and she brings a vitality to the screen that is hard to match.
- DirectorCraig William MacneillStarsChloë SevignyKristen StewartJeff PerryA psychological thriller based on the infamous 1892 murders of Lizzie Andrew Borden's family.I've been fascinated with the Lizzie Borden case since I saw Elizabeth Montgomery play her in a 1975 TV movie. Sevigny is a smart actor and it sounds like a project she's been pursuing for years.
- DirectorBart LaytonStarsSpencer ReinhardWarren LipkaEric BorsukFour young men mistake their lives for a movie and attempt one of the most audacious heists in U.S. history.I love all these leads, particularly Evan Peters, who was amazing as Quicksilver in the X-Men movie ("Days of Future Past"? I get confused) and terrifying and horrific in "American Horror Story."
- DirectorReed MoranoStarsPeter DinklageElle FanningCharlotte GainsbourgThe apocalypse proves a blessing in disguise for one lucky recluse--until a second survivor arrives with the threat of companionship.I like post-apocalyptic films. I like Dinklage though the jury is still out with me on Fanning. Director Reed Morano, usually a cinematographer, promises us great setups of this intriguing pairing of stars.
- DirectorBrad AndersonStarsJon HammJay PotterKhalid BenchagraCaught in the crossfires of civil war, CIA operatives must send a former U.S. diplomat to negotiate for the life of a friend he left behind.Brad Anderson has made a number of films very unlike each other from the creepy, still "The Machinist" to the downright terrifying "Session 9" to the thriller "Transsiberian." Interested to see what he does with what sounds like solid genre territory.
- DirectorBen LewinStarsPaul RuddPierfrancesco FavinoTom WilkinsonFormer Major League Baseball player Moe Berg goes undercover in World War II Europe for the Office of Strategic Services.Director Ben Lewin made the deeply affecting "The Sessions" and has a way with getting the best from intriguing actors. Very excited to see what he gets from a serious Paul Rudd.
- DirectorTamara JenkinsStarsKathryn HahnPaul GiamattiGabrielle ReidAn author is undergoing multiple fertility therapies to get pregnant, putting her relationship with her husband on edge.If you told me Kathryn Hahn was starring in a spoken-word, tone-poem, stream of consciousness one-person play in the Playplace sitting area of the McDonalds down by the Interstate I'd go. Here she's directed by Tamara Jenkins (“Slums of Beverly Hills,” “The Savages”) + a Paul Giamatti bonus
- DirectorMorgan NevilleStarsFred RogersMargaret WhitmerTom JunodAn exploration of the life, lessons, and legacy of iconic children's television host Fred Rogers.You outgrew him before you hit pre-school but no one can ever forget this kindly gentleman and I'm fascinated to find out what made him tick.
- DirectorMarina ZenovichStarsRobin WilliamsMark RasmussenStan WilsonAn intimate look into the life and work of the revered master comedian and actor, Robin Williams.I had the good fortune to see Robin Williams in person twice at Sundance. Once when he turned a Q&A into a one-man show after the Eccles screening of "One Hour Photo" and again later that same week when he burst out of the Egyptian Theater in antic/manic flourishes into snowy Main Street before hopping in his ride. Seems fitting to catch this doc.
- DirectorPanos CosmatosStarsNicolas CageAndrea RiseboroughLinus RoacheThe enchanted lives of a couple in a secluded forest are brutally shattered by a nightmarish hippie cult and their demon-biker henchmen, propelling a man into a spiraling, surreal rampage of vengeance.That photo.
- DirectorAndrew HecklerStarsGarrett HedlundAndrea RiseboroughForest WhitakerWhen a museum celebrating the Ku Klux Klan opens in a South Carolina town, the idealistic Reverend Kennedy strives to keep the peace even as he urges the group's Grand Dragon to disavow his racist past.Will this finally, FINALLY??? be the film that gets Garrett Hedlund in the hearts and minds of the general public? Gawd I hope so.
- DirectorBo BurnhamStarsElsie FisherJosh HamiltonEmily RobinsonAn introverted teenage girl tries to survive the last week of her disastrous eighth grade year before leaving to start high school.Director Bo Burnham is the droll, super-successful comic in "The Big Sick" and a funny stand-up in his own right. Will Sundance lightning strike twice for him?
- DirectorJoshua MarstonStarsChiwetel EjioforGerard CatusAllie McCullochEvangelist Carlton Pearson is ostracized by his church for denying the existence of Hell.Oooh, great cast but I've been mostly cold on director Joshua Marston. It's also a subject that could tend to be a one-sided polemic, and that leaves me as cold as a Park City Metro bus ski rack.
- DirectorMichael DweckStarsMarty BergerBarbara CromartyJim CromartyA sumptuous Sundance doc depicting the Long Island birthplace of stock car racing where only one track remains. Located on prime real estate, the real tors are circling. The property is worth millions and only the love and integrity of the track's community and elderly owners keep the bulldozers at bay. Stunning cinematography immerses us in the intimate world of grassroots racing, at a time when its future is in the balance. Can this great blue collar American pastime survive?A fascinating theme, fascinating characters and the end of an era. Sounds like a compelling doc. that's closer to home and reality for most of us.
- DirectorTim WardleStarsRobert ShafranMichael DomnitzHoward SchneiderIn 1980 New York, three young men who were all adopted meet each other and find out they're triplets who were separated at birth. But their quest to find out why turns into a bizarre and sinister mystery.Publicity materials are known for hyperbole but rarely is the word "jaw-dropping" used (they have some shame). It's used here.
- DirectorSebastián SilvaStarsJason MitchellChristopher AbbottAnn DowdTyler, a sole black man, attends an otherwise all-white weekend of drunken bro debauchery on a birthday trip to a cabin in the Catskills.I love a good horror movie and this sounds like a good horror movie.
- DirectorAugustine FrizzellStarsMaia MitchellCamila MorroneLiz CardenasJessie and Angela, high school dropouts, are taking a week off to chill at the beach. Too bad their house got robbed, rent's due, they're about to get fired, and they're broke.Great buzz on this one and I'm certain to try to see it. It has that American Honey feel to it.
- DirectorEthan HawkeStarsBen DickeyAlia ShawkatJosh HamiltonA reimagining of the life and times of Blaze Foley, the unsung songwriting legend of the Texas Outlaw Music movement.Ethan Hawke, by most old accounts, was an ego-engorged young actor. Having had the privilege to have met him and dealt with him on many occasions in the last few years my experience has been that he's a serious, hard-working artist committed to the vision at hand, be that a play, a film, or music. Hawke's also one who is the first to be self-deprecating. How that applies to direction will be fascinating to see. Plus, I thought "Chelsea Walls" (his first feature) showed promise.