Day 3 at Sundance 2020
NEVER RARELY SOMETIMES ALWAYS
Photo courtesy of Focus Features
Seventeen year old Autumn (Sidney Flanigan) has just discovered she's pregnant. Relying on non-existent parental guidance at home, she decides to take matters into her own hands by leaving her small Pennsylvania town and trek out to New York City to get an abortion. Accompanied by her best friend Skylar (Talia Ryder), the duo deal with adult themes head on in this poignant and very engrossing feature from director Eliza Hittman ("It Felt Like Love," "Beach Rats") which will be released theatrically March 13.
Rating: B+
FOUR GOOD DAYS
Photo courtesy of Indigenous Media
Glenn Close gives a commanding performance as a tough love mother helping her drug addicted daughter (Mila Kunis) kick her heroin habit by staying clean for four straight days. It's the latest from writer/director Rodrigo Garcia who has worked with Close in the past ("Albert Nobbs," "Things You Can Tell Just By Looking At Her") and their great working relationship shows onscreen. Together they shape a very by-the-numbers story and make it fresh and unique. Mila Kunis as the addicted daughter also shows strong range and promise for future dramatic projects.
Rating: B
WORTH
Photo courtesy of MadRiver Pictures
How much is a human life worth? That question is at the heart of director Sara Colangelo's ("The Kindergarten Teacher") new film "Worth." Michael Keaton stars as a hotshot attorney tasked with the impossible decision of dealing with the aftermath of 9/11 and its victims. Is the life of a janitor worth more than that of a CEO? Who determines how much one family should receive in damages? These questions only hint at the political issues "Worth" deals with in its very smart screenplay based on true events. Stanley Tucci costars as a grieving husband and his scenes with Keaton are some of the most electric in the film.
Rating: B
IRONBARK
Photo courtesy of Roadside Attractions
A Cold War spy thriller starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Rachel Brosnahan and Jessie Buckley sounds great on paper, but "Ironbark's" execution is so dry and minimalist that it's hard to engage. Plot details involving informants and deceit are stretched to draining effect and will remind viewers of an even slower-paced version of John Le Carre's film adaptation of "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy."
Rating: C
SCARE ME
Photo courtesy of Shudder
Fred and Fanny (Josh Ruben and Aya Cash) are horror writers who seem to meet by chance on a morning jog. She's more successful, he's more insecure and together they become trapped in a desolate cabin after a power outage hits their quiet town. So what better way to pass the time than for the duo to swap scary stories and see who has the creepiest tale. What starts as a friendly wager quickly turns tiresome after the scary stories aren't really scary at all. Instead they're boring, overstuffed and alienating. In addition to starring in "Scare Me," Josh Ruben also wrote and directed the film.
Rating: D+
