Sundance 2022: "Master" Review
Writer/director Mariama Diallo takes a look at systems, racism, and the haunting of assimilation in Master. Billed as a horror film, it’s not the typical horror in terms of jump scares but rather the real horror of the affects of racism. Master has plot holes riddled throughout it, but its themes are worth exploring.
Gail Bishop (Regina Hall) is the new Master at a predominately white college in New England. As she is settling into her role, college freshman Jasmine Moore (Zoe Renee) is settling into hers. The campus has a lot to offer: parties, new friends, education, and hope for the future. As Zoe first steps on to campus with big, beautiful curls in her naturally curly hair. As she acclimates to the new environment, we see her hair straighten and look change.
Simultaneously, Bishop is trying to get acclimated to her new home as a Master, but strange things start to happen. Maggots appear in odd places; mini statuettes representing a Mammy, slave and other racist emblems seem to be hidden within the house. It doesn’t help that rumors of the occult and a witch are a part of campus lore. In fact, Jasmine’s room belonged to a black girl who died under mysterious circumstances and something seems to be coming after Jasmine.
As a mystery starts to unravel, the link between past trauma, how black people deal with it and assimilation becomes more clear. Hall shines as an allegory for black people who “make it” and have to uphold an image of perfection while being human. Or do they? This is the question that Diallo puts before us. Do we still have to put up a front to be accepted while slowly killing ourselves on the inside by not showing up authentically?
The cinematography in the film uses muted earth tones. The brown skin of the main characters fade in to wooden tables, desks and chairs in different scenes. While in comparison, their white counterparts pop out of the environment. This smart decision by Diallo and cinematographer, Charlotte Hornsby, is one of the most subtle but brilliant choices in the film. This need to fit in to the point where the main characters fade into their surroundings is a move that the audience may not notice at first glance but feel subconsciously.
The film is a little off kilter in its handling of its characters. One particular storyline drops off abruptly without questions being answered. Another storyline concludes in such a way that will cause reflection. There is something that Diallo is trying to say and in this case perhaps the mixing of genre throws it off or at a script level some beats could be fleshed out. However, this is a good conversation piece for after the lights come up in a theater or at home.
Rating: B-
Sundance 2021: "CODA" Review
I was lucky to catch “CODA” on the last day of Sundance. By the time I did, it had already broken records as the highest selling film at the festival at a whopping $25 million. So for me, it was like sipping an expensive pour of bourbon; I had to see what $25 million tasted like! While I ingested it with other senses, the film that focuses on the bond of a deaf family had my eyes pouring out tears and belly full of laughs. In short, the film is worth the hype.
The film is a remake of the 2014 French dramedy “La Famille Bélier”. “CODA” stands for Child of Deaf Adults. Within the film, Ruby (Emilia Jones) is the only hearing member of her family. The Rossis are a hardworking, tight knit fishing family living near the coast of Massachusetts. Ruby works on the boat with her father Frank (Troy Kotsur) and brother Leo (Daniel Durant). She acts as interpreter and intermediary between worlds for her family. Her mother Jackie (Marlee Matlin) is a former model and her father’s passion for his beautiful wife is never not on display, even if it humiliates Ruby.
While Ruby works early morning hours with her father and brother, she attends high school with other teens her age. She decides to take a chance and audition for the school choir, led by Bernardo Villalobos (Eugenio Derbez). Bernardo is a character, stating that you can save yourself the embarrassment and call him Mr. V if you can’t roll your R’s. He’s the exact influence that Ruby needs to motivate her to audition for Berklee College of Music.
The clash of Ruby’s desire to go to college and her family’s need for a no cost interpreter to keep their business running is the center of the conflict in the film. However, it’s the layers of issues within that conflict that makes the film so moving. Each family member wrestles with issues of inadequacy. Leo feels as though he isn’t appreciated enough as the older brother who seems to be looked over by his parents. Ruby feels like an outsider as the one in four who can hear. Her parents depend and lean too much on Ruby for assistance, missing or refusing to see that she needs to breathe and be independent.
The film is full of beautiful, moving, and laugh out loud moments. It spotlights relationships within the family and the family bond as a whole. The ensemble cast is absolutely stellar, boasting of Academy Award worthy performance for all the right reasons. The Rossi family use American Sign Language to communicate throughout the film and thus the physical and subtle nuances of their performances are even more powerful. Director Sian Heder captures the importance of communication within her cinematic family and what communication means for the deaf community through framing and sound.
You’ll have to judge for yourself if this film should be valued at $25 million. Much like bourbon, your taste may be different but there are certain films that universally strike a chord and resonate. “CODA” certainly is a winner that deserves the buzz and accolades it will receive!
Rating: A
Sundance 2021: "Searchers" Review
I have no idea what online dating is like. I’ve been married for twelve years and missed online dating when I was single. In a world ravaged by the COVID-19 virus, the exposure of our need for human connection is even more abundantly clear. Director Pacho Velez documents what searching for someone to date is like for a diverse group of New Yorkers across age, gender, and sexual orientation. It’s a fascinating look at human nature that uses dating as a cover to explore what makes us tick.
Velez uses a rig in which his subjects look into the camera while scrolling through dating apps. The glass in front of the camera lens reflects the computer screen for the subject to see. Think of it like a teleprompter that shows the computer screen instead of a script. As his subjects scroll, center punched in the frame, they talk about who they see, what they’re interested in or why they make the decisions they make.
This technique is fascinating because it’s as though his subjects are looking at you at times, but our voyeurism as an audience member and connection to the people in front of us is made even stronger. It’s like looking through a one way mirror as someone gives their private thoughts and opinions on what they’re seeing. How each person judges the profiles in front of them is unique to them while universally familiar. In fact, we judge the judgers in front of us on the screen as audience members creating a connected loop. None of this is imposed by the filmmaker, but naturally occurs due to film technique and human nature.
Throughout the film, Velez occasionally cuts to side conversations with his interviewees. These interviews explore the culture behind online dating, various apps and personal desires. These moments of vulnerability and sincere explanation are what makes the documentary charming and captivating. He also captures moments of public displays of affection, engagements, and wedding photos being taken in the midst of this pandemic. These slices of life pin a moment in time within the frame. It’s a moment of someone’s happiness that we can swoon over, the happiness we aspire to attain, this moment of isolation and masks, and a bit of the dream we all may concoct in our heads as to what love is.
Our common desire and need for relationship is on full display throughout the documentary. How we meet new people and how our past relationships effect those interactions is what makes the tapestry of our lives. “Searchers” is a special film that will have you search your own thoughts, relationships and interdependence with others.
Rating: A
Sundance 2021: "White Wedding" Review
Great films expect you to catch up to it and writer/director Melody C. Roscher understands that. “White Wedding” is a short film that throws you into it and asks you fill in the blanks as it moves along. It starts with the mother of the groom (Mary McMillan) realizing she made a huge mistake. She rushes to tell her daughter, Kelly (Emily Davis), that she made a mistake in hiring the band. It seems the bass player, Bower (Curtiss Cook, “Counselor”), is the bride’s estranged father.
The instant conflict is there. On what should be Bella’s (Nabiyah Be) happiest day, it could instantly be a bittersweet one, marred by her father’s presence. As not to spoil the short, the rest of the film is pushes us toward an inevitable meeting, proving the power of short filmmaking.
Roscher understands the premise of her short, the characters within, and how to deliver the story to the audience. She fills the frame with wedding guests and things you’d expect to see at a wedding. The claustrophobic look at times adds to the tension building in the story. Cinematographer David Paul Jacobson channels a Fincher-esque color palette with lightly desaturated warm colors. A huge tilt of that hat goes to the Art Department on the look of the setting. You’re thrust into the midst of a wedding in progress and you’re quickly invested.
This is an example of a filmmaking team firing on all cylinders to create a cohesive and enjoyable story. The film works as a short and could be a part of a bigger film. Either way, the transition from longtime producer to writer/director for Roscher seems like a smart move and I look forward to seeing more from her!
Rating: A
Sundance 2019: "Sweetheart" Review
One of the hidden gems to come out of Sundance this year is Sweetheart. Shipwrecked on an island, a young woman must not only survive the elements but fend off a malevolent creature that comes out of the ocean at night. On the surface, that description may not sound very appealing, but the execution is delicious!
Jenn (Kiersey Clemons) has just washed up on the shore of an island that she learns is deserted. Along with her, Brad (Andrew Crawford) has hit the sand, but the large piece of coral in his side spells doom. Before she can grab Brad some coconut water (literally), he’s gone. Alone on the island, Jenn quickly assesses what she has at her disposal for survival. The life jackets she and Brad wore, a flair gun, and a suitcase won’t get the job done, but it will do.
After exploring the island a bit, she finds the remains of what seems to be a family that landed on the island as well (both skeletal and their material belongings). As night falls, she buries her friend, only to find blood soaked sand and palm tree leaves where he was in the morning. As the film moves forward she finds that she’s not alone and you may be able to guess what happens, but it’s not as predictable as you may think in getting to the end.
Writer/director J.D. Dillard has written a smart, female heroine in Jenn. She is able to survive on the island by fishing, cooking, and eventually finding ways to analyze what she’s up against in this nocturnal monster. As an audience, all we know about Jenn is what we see from the shipwreck, but Dillard also brings in more characters to give us some backstory on Jenn and why she may be the survivor she is.
Sweetheart would be a here today gone tomorrow monster tale if not for its creative screenplay. All jump scares are earned here, and the monster is scary in appearance and sound. In fact, Dillard understands that less is more and therefore creates an environment that audiences can be invested in because our imagination fills in the gaps of things we don’t see. Clemons gives a standout performance as most of the movie is on her shoulders. Sweetheart is a survive the night(s) camp horror/thriller that belongs in and bolsters the genre.
Rating: B+