Best of the 2017 Sundance Film Festival
The 2017 Sundance Film Festival is officially over! It was a long, cold two weeks, but a good one. I saw 28 films over the two weeks (33 if you include each short film I saw in the Animated Shorts Program) which ties 2012 as the most I have ever seen at the festival. I probably could have seen more, but I decided to do other activities towards the end of the festival that hurt the count. Regardless, I would still say it was a very successful year. This year was one of the best years for movies I have ever had in my seven years attending the festival. There were a lot of really good movies and no movie that I genuinely hated, which usually happens with a couple of movies. So with that, here are my picks for the best movies and performances from Sundance 2017.
TOP 5 MOVIES
1 – 78/52 (Alexandre O. Phillipe)
- I love anything and everything about Alfred Hitchcock and this documentary, looking at Psycho (1960) and the infamous ‘Shower Scene’, was an hour and a half film school about history, craft, and Hitchcock mastery.
2 – WINDRIVER (Taylor Sheridan)
- Taylor Sheridan’s directorial debut is a cold-blooded, edge of your seat thriller with a great lead performance by Jeremey Renner, unbearable tension, and a mind-blowing ending.
3 – THE DISCOVERY (Charlier McDowell)
- Reminiscent of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004), this is one of the most unique love stories and interesting sci-fi movies I have seen in a long time. And, it features a great ending and stellar performances by the whole cast.
4 – A GHOST STORY (David Lowery)
- David Lowery’s meditative look at life after death is a haunting, bone-chilling, challenging film that will have you talking for hours after it ends.
5 – SUMMER CAMP ISLAND (Julia Pott)
- Part of the Animated Short Program, this adorable, hilarious, weird six minute gem features talking pajamas, unicorns, monsters, and two friends trying to find normalcy in their life after they are dropped off at camp.
BEST OF THE REST
BEST DIRECTOR – DAVID LOWERY for A GHOST STORY
RUNNER UP – TAYLOR SHERIDAN for WIND RIVER
- Sheridan knows how to make a great thriller and does so once again in Wind River. Lowery’s lingering camera and hypnotic tone put me in an unblinking trance begging for more.
BEST ACTOR – DONTRELL BRIGHT in DAYVEON
RUNNER UP – NICHOLAS HOULT in REBEL IN THE RYE
- Bright, having never acted before, blows this movie out of the water with an authentic, gritty, strong performance as Dayveon’s father figure. Hoult shines as the troubled author J.D. Salinger and could see some Oscar love later this year.
BEST ACTRESS – DANIELLE MACDONALD in PATTI CAKE$
RUNNER UP – JESSICA WILLIAMS in THE INCREDIBLE JESSICA JAMES
- Both are destined to become a star, but it is the Aussie newcomer who gave me goosebumps when she spit on the mic.
BEST SCREENPLAY – THE DISCOVERY
RUNNER UP – THE BIG SICK
- I’ll take an inventive and twisty, sci-fi love story in The Discovery just barely over the sweet, smart, hilarious script for The Big Sick.
BEST DOCUMENTARY – 78/52
RUNNER UP – ICARUS
- I loved the true insanity and brilliance of Icarus and will hype the movie for months to come. But my love for Hitchcock overweighs everything and 78/52 is pure Hitch.
MOST BIZZARE – KUSO
RUNNER UP – THE LITTLE HOURS
- Usually hypersexualized nuns would win here, but the vile, sexual fever-dream Flying Lotus created is one of the most insane and gross movies I have ever seen.
MOST DISAPPOINTING – THE YELLOW BIRDS
RUNNER UP – THE POLKA KING
- A movie that was so good until the final act, The Yellow Birds was a surefire Oscar contender that failed to hit.
LEAST FAVORITE – THE KILLING GROUND
RUNNER UP – AXLOTL OVERKILL
- Neither of these movies are terrible, but The Killing Ground was slow, redundant, and had a very unsatisfying ending.
Make sure to check out all my reviews and coverage of the 2017 Sundance Film Festival on Twitter and Instagram, @kevflix, and on Facebook by searching Kevflix.