“Jumbo”
Director: Zoé Wittrock
Cast: Noémie Merlant, Emmanuelle Bercot, Sam Louwyck
Lowdown: “Jumbo” – the story of a withdrawn young woman who falls in love with a miniature theme park ride she’s constructing in her bedroom – sounds like the kind of radical, envelope-pushing cinema that Sundance was made to showcase. There’s plenty to be excited about here: “Jumbo” is the directorial debut of rising talent Zoé Wittrock, as well as a chance for the luminous Noémie Merlant to give yet another brilliant performance after her tragically overlooked turn in last year’s “Portrait of a Lady on Fire.” It’s hard to know how festival-goers will react to “Jumbo,” but they’ll doubtlessly want to purchase a ticket – if for no other reason than the film promises to be quite the conversation-starter. – NL
[World Cinema Dramatic Competition]
https://twitter.com/ThePlaylist/status/1220021330378215424
“The Nowhere Inn”
Director: Bill Benz
Cast: Annie Clark, Carrie Brownstein
Lowdown: Under the moniker of St. Vincent, Annie Clark has recorded some of the most infectiously mind-bending pop tunes of the last decade. “The Nowhere Inn” was originally supposed to be a documentary about St. Vincent shot with the help of Clark’s real-life BFF, “Portlandia” star Carrie Brownstein. Alas, it would appear that things have gotten weird – and in this case, that’s a good thing. “The Nowhere Inn,” directed by “Portlandia” and “Kroll Show” vet Bill Benz, aims to be an irreverent yet revealing Meta meditation on celebrity and creativity, as well as a film that mischievously blurs the line separating fact and fiction. If nothing else, it seems doubtful that anything else like it will be playing at Park City this year.– NL
[Midnight]
Congratulations to @st_vincent + @Carrie_Rachel on getting The Nowhere Inn, a film they co-wrote and co-star in, accepted to @sundancefest 2020!
In other news, apparently Annie Clark & Carrie Brownstein co-wrote and co-starred in a film together?!?
:considers going to Sundance: pic.twitter.com/h5MfhIySbm— Faronheit (@faronheit) December 4, 2019
“The Night House”
Director: David Bruckner
Cast: Rebecca Hall, Sarah Goldberg, Stacy Martin, Vondie Curtis-Hall
Lowdown: “The Ritual,” director David Bruckner’s kooky slice of supernatural terror, was something of a hit-and-miss affair. However, it was also a film that boasted enough style and atmosphere to make us excited for whatever the director had up his sleeve next. The ingredients for a splendid psychological creepfest are all accounted for in Bruckner’s follow-up, “The Night House”: a dead husband, a lakeside house, and lingering visions of unwanted spectral visitors. The film also offers an optimal platform for its star Rebecca Hall, who hasn’t enjoyed a lead role this juicy since Antonio Campos’ “Christine,” another Sundance stunner. – NL
[Midnight]
https://twitter.com/ThePlaylist/status/1202345530275315720
The 2020 Sundance Film Festival runs from Jan 23-Feb 2, 2020. Follow along for all of our coverage from The 2020 Sundance Film Festival here.
Editor-at-Large Gregory Ellwood is one of the entertainment industry's most respected journalists and critics. Based in Los Angeles, he's the only current awards expert who previously worked on Oscar campaigns at a major movie studio. Over the years, he has written for the LA Times, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, and Vox, among others. He also co-founded the entertainment news site HitFix, which spawned a legion of influential Emmy and WGA Award-winning alumni.
