Sundance London 2018
Sundance Film Festival London
Picturehouse Central
May 31st – June 3rd, 2018
by Joanna Orland
The Sundance Film Festival once again brought highlights from its Utah lineup to London. Sundance London 2018 presented twelve feature films including London’s Audience Favourite award winner Eighth Grade, directed by Bo Burnham. Other highlights included Debra Granik’s Leave No Trace, Idris Elba’s Yardie, Paul Schrader’s First Reformed, horror sensation Hereditary, Jim Hosking’s An Evening With Beverly Luff Linn and U.S. Dramatic Grand Jury Prize winner The Miseducation of Cameron Post.
—
An Evening With Beverly Luff Linn
Directed by Jim Hosking
Starring Aubrey Plaza, Jemaine Clement, Emile Hirsch, Maria Bamford, Craig Robinson and Matt Berry
It’s no secret that I despise director Jim Hosking’s first feature The Greasy Strangler. A juvenile grossout I find to be irredeemable, it became a cult hit, and I unfortunately both expected it and understood why. In no way was I looking forward to a follow up from the insane mind behind The Greasy Strangler, but if I were to do an exercise where I wrote down all of the actors who could pull off the style of humour that Jim Hosking so distinctly emanates, it would literally be the entire cast of An Evening With Beverly Luff Linn. Well, everyone except Emile Hirsch, but I will get to that later… read more
—
First Reformed
Directed by Paul Schrader
Starring Ethan Hawke, Amanda Seyfried, and Cedric Kyles
A demanding film to say the least, days after watching First Reformed, I am still unsure of how I feel about it. While I certainly didn’t outright enjoy watching it, or particularly like it, I immensely respect many aspects of it… read more
–
The Sundance Film Festival London held a special screening of First Reformed, with an introduction by star Ethan Hawke. We managed to chat with Ethan before the screening… read more
—
Hereditary
Directed by Ari Aster
Starring Toni Collette, Gabriel Byrne, Alex Wolff, Milly Shapiro, Ann Dowd and Mallory Bechtel
Actress Toni Collette joined director Ari Aster at the Sundance Film Festival London screening of their film Hereditary. Touted as the scariest film since The Exorcist, Hereditary follows the Graham family as they start to unravel following the death of their reclusive grandmother.
The debut feature by writer/director Aster, Hereditary has been frightening audiences since it first screened at Sundance’s Utah festival in January. We spoke with Aster about the reaction to his sensational horror… read more
—
Leave No Trace
Directed by Debra Granik
Starring Ben Foster, Dale Dickey, Isaiah Stone, Thomasin McKenzie and Ayanna Berkshire
Will (Foster) and his daughter Tom (McKenzie) seem to live an idyllic life off the grid, in a scenic nature reserve near Portland, Oregon. They are not on the run, but merely longing to escape a society to which they feel no connection. A chance encounter with a stranger leads the authorities to find the pair, remove them from their camp and threaten them with separation unless they follow the rules of society. While Tom swiftly adapts and discovers a longing for community, Will withdraws further, unable to adapt to everyday society after years of service in the military… read more
—
Never Goin’ Back
Directed by Augustine Frizzell
Starring Maia Mitchell, Camila Morrone, Kyle Mooney, Aristotle Abraham II, Joel Allen and Ashley Amos
Teenaged girlfriends Angela (Mitchell) and Jessie (Morrone) are highschool dropouts working thankless waitressing jobs just to make rent, living with Jessie’s brother Dustin in a house deep in the heart of Texas. Jessie’s 17th birthday is on the horizon and Angela has bought them a beach vacation to celebrate, using all of their rent money for the month. Angela doesn’t fret as she believes their upcoming waitress shifts should more than cover the loss, not accounting for how much of a degenerate Dustin is. In fact, this film is full of such immoral unlikable people, Angela and Jessie included… read more
—
The Miseducation of Cameron Post
Directed by Desiree Akhavan
Starring Chloë Grace Moretz, Marin Ireland, Jennifer Ehle, Quinn Shephard, John Gallagher Jr. and Sasha Lane
Cameron Post (Moretz) is an average teenage girl whose world is turned upside down after she’s caught in the backseat of a car with her female friend on prom night. Swiftly shipped off to Christian gay conversion camp ‘God’s Promise’, Cameron finds herself surrounded by other teens “struggling with same-sex attraction”. The Miseducation of Cameron Post and her peers unfolds in this humourous and meaningful coming-of-age drama… read more
—
The Tale
Directed by Jennifer Fox
Starring Laura Dern, Isabelle Nélisse, Jason Ritter, Elizabeth Debicki, Ellen Burstyn, Frances Conroy and Common
An immensely personal story for Jennifer Fox, The Tale depicts the director’s abuse as a child, her relationship with the memory of it, and the complex path to dealing with the trauma. The power of the film lies in a woman telling her own story in her own way, taking back control of the narrative of what happened to her; all the while, educating the audience of the complexities of sexual abuse of children… read more
—
Yardie
Directed by Idris Elba
Starring Aml Ameen, Mark Rhino Smith, Fraser James, Calvin Demba, Akin Gazi, Everaldo Creary and Stephen Graham
Idris Elba makes his directorial debut with Yardie, based on the novel of the same name by Jamaican-born writer Victor Headley. In 1973 Kingston, Jamaica, there is a blazing turf war between gangs, and innocent peacemaker Jerry (Creary) finds himself caught in the crossfire. Jerry’s brother Dennis witnesses his brother’s shooting, and ten years later sets out on a path of vengeance. Taken under the wing of gangleader King Fox, it seems that Dennis’ fate is sealed as he is sent to London in a test of loyalty to his boss, and stumbles across his brother’s killer… read more
—
Photo Gallery:
