“Madeline’s Madeline”
Cast: Helena Howard, Molly Parker, Miranda July, Okwui Okpokwasili, Felipe Bonilla
Synopsis: A theater director’s latest project takes on a life of its own when her young star takes her performance too seriously.
What You Need To Know: Writer/director Josephine Decker made a huge splash at the Berlinale in 2014 with her double feature of “Thou Wast Mild and Lovely” and “Butter on the Latch,” super low budgeted films that challenged the notion of indie dramas and experimental movies as mutually exclusive. She’s directed films since (primarily the quasi doc “Flames”), but her latest, presented in the provocative NEXT section, could be the one that tips her further towards the indie mainstream.
“Private Life”
Cast: Kathryn Hahn, Paul Giamatti, Molly Shannon, John Carroll Lynch
Synopsis: An author puts her marriage on edge when she undergoes multiple fertility therapies to get pregnant.
What You Need To Know: Director Tamara Jenkins is terrific and we certainly don’t get enough of her. The director of “Slums of Beverly Hills” (2004) and “The Savages” (2007) she hasn’t made a feature length film in ten years, but she finally and thankfully returns this year. And if you want to complain about Netflix for whatever reason, at least know that they at least gave life to this film and presumably picked it up when no other studio would. Jenkins make lively, funny, authentic humanist films and this is easily among our top three most anticipated film of the fest.
“Beirut”
Cast: Jon Hamm, Rosamund Pike, Dean Norris, Larry Pine, Shea Whigham
Synopsis: A U.S. diplomat flees Lebanon in 1972 after a tragic incident at his home. Ten years later, he is called back to war-torn Beirut by CIA operatives to negotiate for the life of a friend he left behind.
What You Need To Know: After making a splash with “The Machinist,”and launching Christian Bale’s career, Brad Anderson has directed an overabundance of movies, but has always had trouble sticking the landing. But with Tony Gilroy (“Michael Clayton,” “Rogue One”) as the screenwriter, hopefully that changes with this one.
“A Futile And Stupid Gesture”
Cast: Will Forte, Martin Mull, Domhnall Gleeson, Joel McHale, Emmy Rossum
Synopsis: In a brief life full of triumph and failure, “National Lampoon” co-founder Doug Kenney built a comedy empire, molding pop culture in the 1970s.
What You Need To Know: Have you seen the excellent documentary “Drunk Stoned Brilliant Dead: The Story of the National Lampoon” about the kind of rise and fall in social popularity of the iconic humor magazine? Director David Wain’s latest tackles that story as a live-action comedy with Will Forte playing Doug Kenney, the driving force and troubled mad genius behind “National Lampoon.” Netflix airs the film shortly after Sundance on January 26th.
Honorable Mention
Sundance is overflowing with options: Daisy Ridley takes a break from “Star Wars” to lead “Ophelia” with Naomi Watts and Clive Owen; John Cho and Debra Messing star in “Search”; Hannah Fidell returns with “The Long Dumb Road” teaming up Tony Revolori, Jason Mantzoukas and Taissa Farmiga; Idris Elba makes his directorial debut “Yardie”; “Colette” stars Keira Knightley; “A Kid Like Jake” features Claire Danes and Jim Parsons; “Puzzle” stars Kelly Macdonald and is written by Oren Moverman; Paul Rudd leads “The Catcher Was A Spy“; and Hilary Swank and Blythe Danner collaborate for “What They Had.”
Crystal Moselle follows up celebrated documentary “The Wolfpack” with her narrative debut “Skate Kitchen,” which also features Jaden Smith, Daryl Wein‘s returns with “White Rabbit,” Carlos López Estrada‘s “Blindspotting” has buzz and we’re definitely curious about “Eighth Grade” by comedian Bo Burnham who’s always had bit parts, but never broken out like many expected. Additional films to look out for include Bart Layton‘s “Imposter,” “American Animals” sounds exciting, Ethan Hawke‘s latest directorial effort “Blaze,” “Nancy” with Andrea Riseborough, and “The Kindergarten Teacher” with Maggie Gyllenhaal. There’s simply too many interesting films to mention in full.
Documentaries could literally be there own features, and being that its Sundance, the line-up is stacked with amazing sounding documentaries. First and foremost, incredibly exciting is Robert Greene “Bisbee ’17” which uses dramatic recreations to mark 100th anniversary of a traumatic deportation in the Arizona/Mexican border, rapper M.I.A. receive the doc portrait treatment in “MATANGI / MAYA / M.I.A.,” legendary ’70s filmmaker Hal Ashby gets his rightful hagiography in “Hal,” undisputed queen of fashion Dame Vivienne Westwood gets the doc treatment in “Westwood: Punk, Icon, Activist,” Don Argott returns with “Believer,” Joan Jett gets her portrait in “Bad Reputation,” Susan Lacy looks at “Jane Fonda In Five Acts,” Marina Zenovich famous for her Roman Polanski doc chronicles “Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind,” Morgan Neville captures Mr. Rogers in “Won’t Your Be My Neighbor” and Louie Psihoyos, director of “The Cove” looks at “The Game Changers.”
Plus, Eugene Jarecki returns with the Steven Soderbergh produced Elvis doc, “The King,” Matthew Heineman (“City of Ghosts,” “Cartel Land“) offers up the first two episodes of his Showtime documentaries series about the opioid epidemic “The Trade,” Spike Lee documents another theater play with “Pass Over” and Chapman and Maclain Way (“The Battered Bastards of Baseball”) present all six parts of their insane-sounding docu series, “Wild Wild Country” (only 388 minutes in total!).
Sundance literally has something for everyone, anyone and you can make your own festival into anything you choose with the right planning.