At face value, February is looking pretty grim. With films such as the finale to a much derided trilogy “50 Shades Freed” (what even is that title) and the embarrassment that looks to be “Peter Rabbit” both coming out in the same week, it might be easy to call the entire month a wash. And, to be frank, I’d nearly agree if there weren’t the bright spots that will redeem the month from itself — and it’s certainly better than January.
February brings us a few 2017 favorites that are hitting the wide release margin, two of the most highly anticipated genre films of the year, some charming independent romantic comedies to satisfy that Valentine’s day urge and a Clint Eastwood film. There’s seemingly something for every film goer and while the duds are pretty bad, there’s more to be found that what may be seen on a quick skim. Sundance is over, Berlin is coming, the SXSW titles have been unveiled and some of the films released this month will be enough to get us from making our apartment our caves and not leaving them until spring. That or, you know, familial, career or life obligations.
“A Fantastic Woman”
Cast: Daniela Vega , Francisco Reyes, Aline Kuppenheim, Luis Gnecco
Synopsis: Marina and Orlando are in love and planning for the future. Marina is a young waitress and aspiring singer. Orlando is 20 years older than her, and owns a printing company. After celebrating Marina’s birthday one evening, Orlando falls seriously ill. Marina rushes him to the emergency room, but he passes away just after arriving at the hospital. Instead of being able to mourn her lover, suddenly Marina is treated with suspicion.
What You Need to Know: Recently and justifiably nominated for a Best Foreign Picture Oscar at this years Academy Awards, “A Fantastic Woman” has quite a bit to celebrate. As one of the best films of 2017 and now being recognized as such, “A Fantastic Woman” first and foremost was a spectacular showcase for Daniela Vega who should be having her star making moment. With a face that a camera loves and performance that’s soulful, searching and powerful, she anchors a tremendous display of filmmaking that is both old fashioned by its design and delightfully modern in the story it’s choosing to tell. Our critic loved the film, saying “After the exceptional ‘Gloria,‘ Chilean director Sebastián Lelio returns in a different, semi-Hitchockian register, to give us another stunning, deeply involving portrait of a woman with the borderline superhuman capacity not to hate herself for who she is, no matter who else does.”
Release Date: Feb 2, 2018
“The 15:17 To Paris“
Cast: Alex Sadler, Alek Skarlatos, Spencer Stone, Jenna Fischer, Judy Greer
Synopsis: In the early evening of August 21, 2015, the world watched in stunned silence as the media reported a thwarted terrorist attack on Thalys train #9364 bound for Paris, an attempt prevented by three courageous young Americans traveling through Europe. The film follows the course of the friends’ lives, from the struggles of childhood through finding their footing in life, to the series of unlikely events leading up to the attack.
What You Need to Know: At 87 years old, Clint Eastwood shows no sign of slowing down, following his last release “Sully” with his latest based on true events thriller/drama with “15:17 To Paris,” a film with a tremendous amount of “what ifs” laying on its back. The biggest is the choice of letting the three men the story is based on act as themselves in the film, an act that feels both respectful and questionable in a single breath, a dramatic shift in how viewers delineate between what’s fake and what’s reality. It’s a gripping story and one worth heralding. There’s no doubt in the want to tell this story and the hope to tell it correctly, it’s just a matter of waiting to see what the final product turns out to be.
Release Date: February 9th
“Golden Exits”
Cast: Emily Browning, Adam Horovits, Lily Rabe, Mary Louise-Parker, Jason Schwartzman
Synopsis: A loosely-connected group of professional, domesticated Brooklynites who are interrupted when a young, pretty, available outsider lands in their midst.
What You Need to Know: Director Alex Ross Perry has an incredible gift in his ability make even the most commonplace encounters impossibly cringe inducing and in crafting impossibly aggravating characters. Jason Schwartzman and Elizabeth Moss in “Listen Up Phillip“and “Queen of Earth” — respectively — fit those roles astonishingly too well. Emily Browning, an often slept on talent who shines in every project she appears in (and was THE stand out in “American Gods“) is the next actress to take the lead in one of his movies. The film itself may not be as up to par as some of Perry’s prior works but at the very least it’s a tremendous showcase for a unshakeable talent like Browning as well as more supporting players in Lily Rabe and Mary Louise-Parker . Our critic gave it a mixed review, saying, “Only a filmmaker as talented as Alex Ross Perry could make a movie as misbegotten as ‘Golden Exits.’ “
Release Date: February 9th
“Permission”
Cast: Rebecca Hall, Dan Stevens
Synopsis: Anna (Rebecca Hall) and Will (Dan Stevens), were each other’s first every-things: first kiss, first love, first and only relationship. Now, 10 years in, at Anna’s 30th birthday party, as Will is about to propose, the couple’s best friend makes a drunken toast, suggesting that they should sleep around before their inevitable marriage. The joke lands like a lead balloon, but the thought lingers until Anna proposes that they try opening their relationship–as a sexual experiment. Together, they venture out of the purely monogamous boundaries of their relationship and, along the way, evolve.
What You Need to Know: Picking narrative films to see at the Tribeca Film Festival is always something of a Russian Roulette. Sometimes, you’re landed with an entire weekend knee deep in cinematic garbage and sometimes (though more rarely unless you’re a wizard of film viewing scheduling) you may find yourself happening upon a few gems. One of those fare few gems of the 2017 festival was the Brian Crano directed “Permission” starring Rebecca Hall and Dan Stevens. A confident twist on the modern romantic comedy, the film possesses all of the makeup of a by the numbers rom-com but manages to subvert expectations with a biting commentary on monogamy, a subplot regarding a couples push and pull when it comes to the decision of having a child and the awkwardness that ensues when you’re trying to get a handle on your sexual identity. It’s an intelligent film anchored by some warm and moving performances, proving that no matter how micro the budget actually was, a good director will always find a way to implement their vision.
Release Date: February 9th