As I’ve said before, this Film Independent membership is coming through in spades! I got the opportunity to view three more upcoming 2021 titles, and they will generally be worth your time! Nostalgia brought me back to the rest of the titles I watched this weekend, so I got a nice balance out of it all. Let’s go!
Nine Days – I do believe this drama isn’t coming to the general public until March, so I will not spoil this for you! While it was a little slow for me, I cannot take away from the film’s incredible originality. Will is a man who watches the lives of people he’s allowed into the world on a wall of old school televisions. He witnesses the death of perhaps his favorite, Amanda, shortly before his is to choose someone else. From a small group and over the course of nine days, Will presents each of them with questions and scenarios to see how they will do if they are chosen. This certainly makes you think at creation in a totally different way. I think Winston Duke deserves some praise for the nuanced performance he brings to the table here. The man’s got range!
The White Tiger – Perhaps my least favorite of the weekend, was this movie based off the book of the same name. It’s not that the story wasn’t interesting, it just felt like not much new information was brought to the table during its over two hour run time. Balram is a lower caste Indian man who sees an entrepreneurial opportunity in becoming a driver for one of India’s wealthiest families. Soon he learns what lengths they will go to in order to protect their own. However, Balram is much more clever than they give him credit for, and he flourishes in the long run. The whole story is told in the perspective of Balram looking back at his life. A lot of newcomers for me personally in this film, with Priyanka Chopra being the only name I recognized, but all the praise in the world given to Adarsh Gourav in his starring turn as Balram.
Our Friend – As far as new films go, this was by far the best I got the chance to see this weekend. This film focuses on a couple, Matthew and Nicole, along with their very close friendship with a somewhat directionless, Dane. Dane’s friendship is the flagship of this film, as he is there for the couple and their kids when Nicole is diagnosed with terminal cancer. The film has its heavy moments, but manages a great deal of levity and humor throughout about two-thirds of the film. If you don’t feel like crying, then don’t put this on your watch-list because my eyes were like faucets for the last thirty minutes or so. I enjoyed this so, so much, but it was incredibly sad. Huge kudos to all three leads, Casey Affleck, Jason Segel, and Dakota Johnson, for bringing this very real (news to me) story to the screen in a very touching way.
Adventureland – After finishing my Kristen Stewart drawing last week, I decided to finally watch this older film that’s been on my radar for a while now. What’s really sad and scary is that this movie is over a decade old. Why? How? I digress. This movie follows Brennan as he spends a summer before grad school working at an amusement park, Adventureland. While there, he makes some new friends, but more importantly falls in love with the somewhat complicated Emily. Jesse Eisenberg and Kristen Stewart play well off of each other, but they are backed by an excellent supporting cast! What made this film even more fun was realizing it was filmed at Kennywood in Pittsburgh! So cool! This movie may be “old” now, but it holds up.
American Ultra – I couldn’t really get enough of the Jesse Eisenberg/Kristen Stewart pairing, so I decided to watch this action-comedy! Jesse needs cast in more comedies! He’s got the chops for it! Anyways, this follows pot-smoking Mike Howell and the love he has for his girlfriend, Phoebe. He plans to propose on a trip to Hawaii, but gets severe panic attacks when he goes to leave his small town in West Virginia. Turns out this is because he is a sleeper-agent for a now defunct program called Wiseman. His former supervisor, Agent Lasseter, is informed that Mike is going to be eliminated for trying to leave the state so often. Feeling obligated to protect Mike, she heads to West Virginia to “activate” him. From there, Mike and Phoebe try to outrun death too many times to count. Definitely funny, and definitely full of action! I love the chemistry these two have together and I hope they team up again in the future.
A Ghost Story – Seeing Casey Affleck in Our Friend reminded me of some of his other strong performances. Specifically, the oddness that was A Ghost Story. This movie might be one of the few films I’ve seen with very limited dialogue, and that’s because our lead is a “ghost.” Really, it’s Casey Affleck under a sheet, but still. He’s a recent spirit unable to move on, and we see him watch his former home over many, many years. This movie takes an interesting turn towards the end that is just fulfilling in a way I cannot fully explain. Be warned, this is a true indie film at its core and it certainly not for everyone. It’s definitely for me, though!
Promising Young Woman – Need I say anything here? Amazing cast. Dark comedy. Thriller. Unbelievable twists and turns. INCREDIBLE.