Day 6 at Sundance 2020
TESLA
Photo courtesy of Passage Pictures
Ethan Hawke steps into the cinematic shoes of Nikola Tesla in a different take on the eccentric pioneer. More subdued than last year's Tesla feature, "The Current War," this version is experimental in tone for better or worse. When "Tesla" focuses on the psychological deconstruction of its main character the film works great. But when it veers into the weird and abstract the film loses its way. For reference, Tesla has an angry ice cream cone fight with Thomas Edison (Kyle MacLachlan) to prove a point. The last time Ethan Hawke worked with director Michael Almareyda, they made a contemporary version of "Hamlet" where he gives the "to be or not to be" speech in a Blockbuster Video. Not to be outdone in "Tesla," toward the end of the film Hawke gives an on-the-nose karaoke rendition of "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" fully in character.
Rating: C
THE LAST SHIFT
Photo courtesy of Falco Ink
Stanley (Richard Jenkins) is in his 60s and about to retire from working at a fast food restaurant for the last 38 years. His last assignment is to train his replacement (Shane Paul McGhie), and that task proves to be easier said than done. Political and cultural barriers are crossed between the two men that bring their worldview into a clearer perspective.
Rating: B
RUN SWEETHEART RUN
Photo courtesy of Blumhouse
Cherie (Ella Balinska from "Charlie's Angels") is a single mom with a bad luck streak haunting her past. After being set up on a blind date by her boss, things quickly go from amazing to terrifying. It turns out Ethan (Pilou Asbaek from “Game of Thrones”) is far from Mr. Right, and Cherie must fight to survive a grisly night of horror. Clever twists and turns are built into the narrative, as well as some welcome social commentary.
Rating: A
THE LAST THING HE WANTED
Photo courtesy of Netflix
On paper the new film "The Last Thing He Wanted" sounds like an awards winner. The story of a veteran journalist (Anne Hathaway) roped into doing a disastrous errand for her deadbeat father (Willem Dafoe) from the director of "Pariah" and "Mudbound" (Dee Rees) should be a slam dunk. But somewhere along the way this seemingly simple story based on a Joan Didion novel became needlessly overblown and convoluted. Ben Affleck co-stars as a government lackey, and he looks bored throughout his scenes. I dare you to watch this movie and make sense of it.
Rating: C
HORSE GIRL
Photo courtesy of Netflix
Sarah (Alison Brie) works in a fabric store and loves horses. That's about as much information as we get about her before the quirk of the new film "Horse Girl" takes over. Little by little Sarah is motivated to venture outside the norm, and, as a result, her personality begins to shift in unexpected ways. It leads some to approve of the new Sarah and others to question her sanity. Brie also co-wrote the film with director Jeff Baena ("Life After Beth," "The Little Hours"), and the end result is an interesting misfire.
Rating: C
