Follow all of our Sundance 2016 coverage.
Sundance 2016 came to an end this past weekend, and once again we had a terrific time in Park City watching the films, trudging through snow, and seeing friends new and old. As is always the case the schedule offered a mix of the truly brilliant (Manchester By the Sea) and the, uh, less brilliant (Outlaws and Angels) with most of the films falling somewhere in between.
Even with a few of us in attendance there were films we missed so consider this list to be of some of the best that we saw there over the past week. Keep reading to see which movies Tomris Laffly, Eric Snider, Christopher Campbell, and I think were some of the best at Sundance 2016.
Cameraperson
One of the most clever films of the festival, this feature helmed by documentary cinematographer Kristen Johnson is a memoir made up of her past and present work. She compiled footage that she shot for other projects (including some in this year’s Sundance program) in a way that provides for a fascinating self-portrait that barely features her on camera. It’s also a film that reveals a lot about how documentaries are made and what’s going on off screen at pivotal points during observational shots and interviews. – Christopher Campbell
Christine
Based on the true story of a Florida TV news reporter who suffered a breakdown on the air, this sensitive drama has Rebecca Hall giving the performance of her career. It’s a high mark for director Antonio Campos, too, as he creates sympathy and tension even when we know how it’s going to end. – Eric Snider
The Eyes of My Mother
A moody and atmospheric horror shot in gorgeous black and white, The Eyes of My Mother is perhaps the most twisted genre film we got to see in Sundance. Part a revenge story and part In Cold Blood in an alternate universe, Pesce’s debut as a writer/director follows a young, lonely woman submitting to her darkest impulses after witnessing a tragedy at a very young age. To say more would diminish its unexpected anxiety inductions; just know there isn’t much relief to be found in Pesce’s startling and eerie film. Like the best examples of horror, he knows exactly how to capture your fears and insecurities, and what to do with them. Don’t assume jump scares from this one. Its effects aren’t trivial or short lived, but are instead sinister and long-lasting. – Tomris Laffly
Frank & Lola
Michael Shannon and Imogen Poots star as a couple who share a funny, sexy romance before secrets and lies threaten to tear them apart, and if the idea of Shannon as a romantic leading man doesn’t excite you then I don’t know what else to say. The movie is too short and feels rushed and incomplete because of it, but like love itself there’s still something powerful in its raw, messy, and electric execution. – Rob Hunter
The Greasy Strangler
John Waters is the obvious inspiration for this low-budget trashsploitation flick about a gross old man who moonlights as a serial killer, but there’s also DNA from Tim and Eric Awesome Show Great Job, Quentin Dupieux’s Rubber, and maybe some Napoleon Dynamite. It’s got something to offend everyone (including a fondness for hideous fake wangs), but if you’re on its wavelength, it’s an unforgettable comedy experience. – Eric Snider
Kate Plays Christine
Furthering his reputation as a leader in cinematic nonfiction, Robert Greene (Actress) blurs the lines of documentary form in this other take on the on-air suicide of TV newscaster Christine Chubbuck. The film follows indie actress Kate Lyn Sheil (The Comedy) in her research for the role of the reporter, and her investigation into the character’s life and motive for killing herself constitutes a more conventional interview-driven side for the doc. Kate Plays Christine is also the very film Sheil is preparing for, as it mixes in dramatic scenes depicting Chubbuck’s final days. I won’t go so far as to say it’s a totally groundbreaking work, but it is unlike anything else we’ll be seeing this year. – Christopher Campbell
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