Goodbye to all that.
Sundance’s final edition in Park City is wrapping up, with artists, agents, executives and critics ready to roll the credits and trek down the mountain for the last time.
The indie film festival has become synonymous with discovery, and this year’s gathering fielded its share of breakouts, with Channing Tatum and Gemma Chan’s harrowing drama “Josephine,” Olivia Wilde’s hilarious ensemble comedy “The Invite” and Charli xcx mockumentary “The Moment” among the talk of the tiny ski town. There were also new distributors, like Row K, Black Bear and Warner Bros. Independent, meaning more homes for films looking to go out into the world — though there were no deals through the fest’s first weekend
At parties and premieres, attendees talked about the films they loved and loathed, but it was often hard to think about movies when the world is on fire. Indeed, politics didn’t just dominate conversations; it carried over to red carpets, where stars wore “ICE Out” pins and condemned the violent raids across Minneapolis.
As for Sundance, it was impossible to shake the feeling that it was the end of an era. Park City was a linchpin of the indie film revolution of the ’90s and early aughts, launching the careers of directors such as Quentin Tarantino and Ryan Coogler and proving that artists didn’t need tens of millions of dollars to create influential cinema. But nothing lasts forever.
Next stop, Boulder.
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Olivia Wilde delivered two of the festival’s best performances, brilliantly portraying one-half of a warring couple in “The Invite” and a provocative artist locked in a sadomasochistic relationship with her assistant in “I Want Your Sex.” The two parts are poles apart — in “The Invite,” Wilde is a jumble of insecurities, while in “I Want Your Sex,” she exudes alpha energy. In lesser hands, the roles could be caricatures. But Wilde, who also directed “The Invite,” embraces her characters’ contradictions, delivering turns that are deeply shaded. Recently, she has concentrated more on directing than acting, sliding behind the camera on the beloved “Booksmart.” Her follow-up, “Don’t Worry Darling,” was overshadowed by her off-screen romance with its star Harry Styles and reports of tension with her leading lady, Florence Pugh. With “The Invite” and “I Want Your Sex” Wilde returns to the center of the frame, reminding audiences not only of what they’ve been missing, but what they failed to appreciate all along.
Make ’Em Laugh
Sundance finally learned to crack a joke. After years of dour and dire dramas, the festival rediscovered its funny bone with a lineup that featured broadly appealing comedies. “Chasing Summer,” with Iliza Shlesinger as a humanitarian worker who returns to her hometown and hard-partying ways, and “Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass,” which follows a naive young woman who goes to Hollywood determined to bed Jon Hamm, were just two of the films that kept audiences in stitches. There were also “Wicker,” starring Olivia Colman as a fisherwoman who orders up a hunky wicker hubby (Alexander Skarsgård), and “The Shitheads,” a road-trip laugh fest led by Dave Franco and O’Shea Jackson Jr. as two screwups who escort a teenager to rehab. Following the pandemic, the rise of Trump and the racial reckoning sparked by George Floyd’s murder, Sundance programmers highlighted movies that spoke to our troubled times. Their efforts were well intentioned, but the overly earnest films they selected often felt like homework. This year, they remembered that cinema should entertain as well as enlighten.
Agents Get Their Shut-Eye
Ben Saunders
Before COVID shook up the indie film business, all-night bidding wars were a staple of Sundance. This year, agents and studio executives who made the pilgrimage to Utah were able to catch up on their beauty sleep. Once again, distributors are taking more time to close deals, gaming out how they think a movie will play at the box office and, in rare cases, awards season before committing to seven- or eight-figure pacts. That’s not to say that a lucky few films aren’t fielding offers. A24 and Focus are hoping to emerge victorious with “The Invite,” with a price tag exceeding $12 million, while Neon is closing a deal for conversion therapy thriller “Leviticus.” “Josephine,” an acclaimed drama about a young girl who witnesses a horrific crime, is expected to get snapped up in the coming days. And “Wicker” and “Ha-Chan, Shake Your Booty!” are also drawing interest from studios.
Boulder Blues
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Yes, some execs seem happy to bid farewell to Park City, griping that it’s too expensive. For the most part, however, the indie filmmakers who routinely come to Sundance believe that Boulder won’t be able to replicate the magic of the mountain resort that’s hosted the festival for more than 40 years. Many of the brands that have historically taken over Main Street with gifting suites and sponsored studios are also steering clear, hesitant to commit to the move to Colorado until they see how the first year goes.
Redford Remembered
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This year’s festival was emotional, not just because it’s the last hurrah in the resort town, but because it was held months after its founder, Redford, died at the age of 89. The legendary actor-director was thanked at nearly every premiere, while the annual Sundance Institute Gala doubled as a tribute, with Ethan Hawke, Woody Harrelson, Chloé Zhao and Ava DuVernay toasting the late filmmaker’s passion for cultivating new talent. “For some of you younger folks who didn’t live in the ’60s, ’70s or ’80s,” said Harrelson, “it might be hard for you to understand what Robert Redford meant to my generation.” Added Hawke, “He championed other people. The fact that he had time to care about all of us is so meaningful.”
From Variety US