2009 Sundance Film Festival Recap

This year the Sundance Film Festival featured the latest and greatest of independent cinema. Highlights for the festival included Push which won a record number of awards including Best Drama by audiences and the jury.

I had the chance to see several films this year, one of my favorites included Max Mayer's Adam which featured incredible performances by Hugh Dancy (Adam), a lonely man with Asperger's who seeks a relationship with his upstairs neighbor played by Rose Byrne (Beth). The film is incredibly sweet, honest, heartbreaking at times, and extremely well shot and directed. Other standout performances include Peter Gallagher as Beth's calculating father Marty and Amy Irving as Rebecca. Fox Searchlight picked up the film almost immediately when it Premiered at the festival. Be sure to keep an eye out for this stellar drama.

Another favorite of mine was In the Loop by Armando Iannucci. This British farce features some of my favorite actors with such familiar faces as James Gandolfini, Anna Chlumsky, and Paul Higgins. The dialog is breakneck in a "His Girl Friday" sort of way as the story takes us deep into a tornado of misinformation and politics that ultimately leads Great Britain and the United States to engage in an invasion. Sound familiar? It was intentional. A notable aspect of the film are the "tough bosses" who shout the funniest and most profane criticisms of their employees you'll ever hear. It's a side splitting, and tragic comedy that will leave you wondering if you just saw a mockumentary on the war in Iraq or a well-written drama. Side note: During Q & A an audience member asked James Gandolfini if he thought there were any similarities between his character General Miller and his role in The Last Castle? After hearing several long responses from others on the stage, Gandolfini approached the microphone and in true Tony Soprano style said simply, "No!" We all left laughing.

Finally, Jeff Daniels and Lauren Graham starred in John Hindman's delightful comedy Arlen Faber, a story about a recluse author of a popular spiritual book that took the world by a storm in the 1970's. Unfortunately for Arlen, he's enprisoned in his own identity as a celebrity guru and a fraud until he's forced to leave his home and seek help from a single mom chiropractor (Graham). The back pains disappear along with his anxiety and as he finds the courage to connect with the world around him and discover his own truth. The film covers tremendous ground with themes about everyday miracles, parenthood, alcoholism, honesty, and forgiveness. Supporting roles and delightfully played by Rickard Barlow as Paul, Max Antisell and young Alex, Kat Dennings as the book store clerk, Olivia Thirlby as the assistant at the chiropractic office, and the hilarious Tony Hale as the local postman who knows the secret of Arlen's residence. I highly recommend Arlen Faber when it's released.