Sundance Film Festival 2023


  • Sundance Review: ‘Plan C’ makes an impact with a hard-hitting look at life choices
    There is no denying that Plan C intended to inform, sought to educate, and hoped to enlighten when it came to Sundance, but for some audiences, this is exactly what made the documentary so dangerous. Debates around abortion in America have raged on for decades, coming to a head in 1973 when the Supreme Court ruled in
  • Sundance Review: ‘You Hurt My Feelings’ does Julia Louis-Dreyfus no favors
    Written and directed by Nicole Holofcener, You Hurt My Feelings features Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Beth, a successful author who is suffering a crisis of confidence in her new book. Married to a therapist Don (Tobias Menzies), her sister Sarah (Michaela Watkins) and husband Mark (Arian Moayed) complete the central quartet in this relationship drama. On many levels
  • Sundance Review: ‘Landscape with Invisible Hand’ tackles some big ideas, but lacks coherence
    Set in a near-future where an alien species called the Vuvv have made contact, hijacked the most intelligent humans to be high paid lapdogs, then turned Earth into landfill for everyone else – Landscape with Invisible Hand will be a tough sell for any audience. With shades of Elysium and District 9, both Neil Blomkamp films, this allegorical alien invasion
  • Sundance Review: ‘Rye Lane’ is a vibrant South London rom-com worth the investment
    Vibrant South London rom-com Rye Lane – from director Raine Allen Miller – fizzes and pops with an immersive exuberance from the outset. Plunging audiences head first into Yas (Vivian Oparah) and Dom (David Jonsson) spending their first day together putting the world to rights. Part urban snapshot and inner city travelog, this rowdy romantic comedy is a
  • Sundance Review: ‘The Deepest Breath’ is a free diving tragedy not without motive
    Plunging into the depths for this tragic tale of extreme sports gone wrong, The Deepest Breath comes to Sundance with an intention to educate and enlighten. Written and directed by Laura McGann, it tells the tale of Steven Keegan and Alessia Zecchini, who both shared a passion for professional free diving. With stock footage taken by fellow
  • Sundance Review: ‘Cat Person’ tackles a contemporary talking point that demands discussion
    Director Susanna Fogel (Booksmart) and writer Michelle Ashford have created a contemporary talking point in Cat Person, which is sure to promote furious debate this year at Sundance. Headlined by Emilia Jones (CODA) alongside Nicholas Braun, it explores the world of online dating, with specific emphasis on age gap relationships. Jones’ Margot works the concession stand
  • Sundance Review: ‘Other People’s Children’ is a rom-com romance filled with revelations
    Other People’s Children is a rom-com from French writer director Rebecca Zlotowski, which will reignite lost loves, seep into the pores of cynics, and convince the Sundance faithful that passion after parenthood need not be a pipe-dream. Much of that magic trick is effortlessly pulled off on screen by effervescent leading lady Virginie Efira, who plays
  • Sundance Review: ‘Fair Play’ proves to be a cutthroat rom-com with the gloves off
    From writer and director Claire Domont, Fair Play is a hedge fund rom-com, which takes elements of J C Chandor’s Margin Call and pits Emily (Phoebe Dynevor) against boyfriend Luke (Alden Ehrenreich) on the trading floor of One Crest Capital. Living together against company policy, analysts Emily and Luke are blissfully happy crunching numbers and planning their wedding. Enjoying
  • Sundance Review: ‘Bad Behavior’ at least lives up to the first half of its title
    Headlined by Jennifer Connelly (Top Gun: Maverick) and Ben Whishaw (No Time to Die), Bad Behavior from writer director Alice Englert comes to Sundance with a top tier cast. Playing Lucy, a faded child star who made her money from one long-running show before falling from grace, Connelly is a mass of nerve energy. Heading to a
  • Sundance Review: ‘Eileen’ brings out a side of Anne Hathaway to get people talking
    Based on the debut novel from PEN award winner Ottessa Moshfegh, Eileen is directed by William Oldroyd (Lady Macbeth) and stars Anne Hathaway (Armageddon Time) alongside Thomasin McKenzie (Last Night in Soho). A period piece set in 1950s Boston, it charts the daily grind of Eileen Dunlop (McKenzie), who lives with her alcoholic father (Shea Wigham), works
  • Sundance Review: ‘Magazine Dreams’ confirms Jonathan Majors as a force to be reckoned with
    Ever since his star turn in Lovecraft Country, which would set him on the path to MCU dominance, Jonathan Majors has delivered great things. Whether that is in Netflix Western The Harder They Fall, or his prior breakout performance in White Boy Rick. Now in 2023, he lands at Sundance as Killian Maddox for Magazine Dreams. Piling on the
  • Sundance Review: ‘Squaring The Circle (The Story of Hipgnosis)’ is the stuff of music legend
    Pop icon peddler, rock musician photographer, and creatively considerate film director Anton Corbijn came to Sundance 2023 with his first feature-length documentary Squaring the Circle (The Story of Hipgnosis). Founded by 1960s hucksters Storm Thorgerson and Aubrey “Po” Powell, Hipgnosis would go on to create some of the most iconic album cover art ever. Working with
  • Sundance Review: ‘Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie’ is a love letter of a legacy to someone still fighting for his life
    No one ever saw this coming. An 80’s icon of film and television being struck down by early onset Parkinson’s in his late 20s. Even more astonishing is the emergence of that same icon like a phoenix from his own fire, who would go on to be a figurehead and ardent campaigner for funding across
  • Sundance Review: ‘Sometimes I Think About Dying’ might be the making of Daisy Ridley
    Sometimes I Think About Dying might just be the revelation audiences have been waiting for from Daisy Ridley as she charts the lonely existence of Fran, an office worker who spends her days watching others interact while daydreaming about death. Plucked from obscurity by J.J. Abrams to headline an as-yet unwritten Star Wars sequel, Ridley had stardom forced