If the pandemic has given me one thing, it’s been ample time to watch movies. Whether I didn’t want to go out at night or I wanted something on in the background during the workday, I found my consumption of movies immensely increased. If the pandemic has given the movie-going public anything, it’s been access to film festivals via virtual attendance. It dawned on me in 2020 that I’d have more access to content from the Chicago International Film Festival, and so I took advantage. When news broke just three weeks ago that the Sundance Film Festival was canceling all in-person activities for the second consecutive year, and would instead be entirely virtual, I realized I had an opportunity there, too.
Honestly, I had only ever dreamed of attending something so seemingly prestigious as the Sundance Film Festival. I’ve been to Park City, where the festival is held; that’s not the issue. Instead, there’s something daunting about the idea of a plebe such as myself attending “Sundance.” But attending it virtually? Hell. That was easy.
All I had to do was go to the Tickets & Packages part of the website, which offered multiple packages to explore the festival. While none of these options are necessarily low-cost, I secured a “Day Package,” where I could watch any four movies in the course of any day I so chose. This deal also gave me access to some neat behind-the-scenes features, as well as early access to ticket selection. I also noticed the option to buy individual movie passes, as long as they weren’t sold out, but this didn’t offer the ancillary benefits.
So, I chose my deal, and I chose my day: Sunday, January 23rd. Now it was time to choose the movies. The fun thing about Sundance is so many of the directors and writers are making their debuts, so it’s easy to know very little about the lineup.
However, I did know Joachim Trier’s The Worst Person in the World (yet to have a wide release in the U.S.), and I did know Kogonada’s After Yang (his own debut feature, Columbus, was a Sundance 2017 hit). “Sweet,” I thought, “I’ll make sure to apply 50% of my tickets to them.” WRONG. As I was quickly reminded, I am not a unique flower, and apparently everyone else had the same idea before me, as both were completely sold-out virtually.
Now I wasn’t sure what to watch. So, I did what any Elder Millennial does when confronted with a problem: Googled for solutions. Unsurprisingly, there were articles listing “Most Anticipated at Sundance.” OK, I learned, I need to see Jesse Eisenberg’s feature debut, When You Finish Saving the World. WRONG, not available on Jan 23. OK, what about You Won’t Be Alone, a Macedonian film about 19th Century witches? WRONG, not available on Jan 23. OK, what about Jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy, a documentary about Kanye West? Oh! It is available on Jan 23? Ugh, fricking Kanye… pass.
All doom and gloom now, right? Actually, just had to dig deeper, and I eventually found well more than four appealing options available on January 23. I secured tickets for 892 (dir. Abi Damaris Corbin), God’s Country (dir. Julian Higgins), Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul (dir. Adamma Ebo), and Master (dir. Mariama Diallo).
Two others I wanted to see, Fresh (dir. Mimi Cave) and Resurrection (dir. Andrew Semans), were temporarily elusive: the former was also sold-out, while the latter played the following day.
To select my watches, all I had to do was “favorite” them from the schedule and then “apply” my four allotted tickets. My screenings of both God’s Country and Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul were for their global premieres, while 892 and Master had previously premiered at the festival and were on their “second runs.” For the second run shows, I could start them at any point during their 24-hour window (9am-9am), and I had a 5-hour window in which to finish. However, for the global premieres, my 5-hour window started precisely at the given time.
The festival was pretty popular over the weekend, as I noticed many movies began to sell out, including all my selections. Fortunately, Sundance noticed this, too, and started issuing additional tickets. On Saturday, I noticed Fresh was no longer sold out, at which point my wallet opened up to secure a second run screening. And since I was in the spending mood, I also bought an individual pass for Resurrection on Monday, January 24.
Sweet, I now officially had tickets to see six(!) movies that were all making their global debuts at Sundance. I also had (and this is perhaps most important of all) a loving wife who agreed to take the boys away for the day so I could Geek Binge at a virtual film festival.
Here are the six movies I viewed, in watch order. I won’t go into too much critical detail, but offer a brief synopsis and opinion. One other thing to note is that following each screening, I had access to a Q&A with the directors, writers, producers, and stars from the respective movies. Sitting in a virtual “fireside” chat with the likes of John Boyega or Thandiewe Newton or Regina Hall was pretty freaking cool – not gonna lie.
Fresh
Director – Mimi Cave
Writer – Lauryn Kahn
Starring – Daisy Edgar-Jones, Sebastian Stan, Jojo T. Gibbs
Watched Second Run at 5:00am
This was part of the festival’s “Midnight Section,” which showcases a series of thriller, horror, and generally subversive films. Cave’s feature directorial debut is a dark comedy thriller about the scares and general absurdity of contemporary dating. This is a cliché thing to say, but it truly is best to know as little as possible going into this. All I’ll say about the plot is following a disastrous online date, Edgar-Jones’s Noa meets Stan’s Steve by chance at a grocery store, develops immediate chemistry, takes his number, and later agrees to a date.
There’s a lot that works very well here, including an excellent sound design, a series of really fun 80s needle drops, and the performances by both Edgar-Jones and Stan; the latter, in particular, provides a charming, screen-grabbing turn, showing a nice change from his Winter Soldier Marvel work. There are clear movie influences at play, but I can’t really say which ones, for fear of spoiling the surprises here. But as a result, while still very fun, the movie feels less its own identity, and more a sum of its inspirations. Still, Fresh is worth a watch, and I suspect it’ll gain a following.
Buyer: Searchlight Pictures
U.S. debut: March 4, 2022 (Hulu)
Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul
Director – Adamma Ebo
Writer – Adamma Ebo
Starring – Regina Hall, Sterling K. Brown, Nicole Beharie
Watched Global Premiere at 12:45pm
My first premiere, and I must say the experience of realizing you’re among the very first audience members to see this movie was pretty cool. The feature directorial debut by Adamma Ebo is a satirical part-mockumentary look at a Southern Baptist megachurch. Following a scandal, pastor Lee-Curtis Childs (Brown) must temporarily close his church doors to deal with the aftermath. However, his wife, Trinite (Hall), brings in a documentary crew to film their side of the story, as they work to re-open their church and welcome back their congregation.
There’s some great writing and sharp editing that work very well. But the justification for the entire experience is the towering performances by both Hall and Brown, who are so good and so watchable that I was able to forgive a lot. Hall, in particular, gives the best performance I’ve seen in her career. Still, Ebo sways the perspective back and forth from the in-story filmmakers’ camera perspective to the real-life camera. I don’t think a mockumentary works well if you carelessly switch perspectives, especially when there’s no stylistic choice denoting the differences. But thanks to Hall, Brown, and some funny writing, I was nevertheless entertained.
Buyer: Not yet
U.S. debut: TBD
892
Director – Abi Damaris Corbin
Writer – Kwame Kwei-Armah & Abi Damaris Corbin
Starring – John Boyega, Michael K. Williams, Nicole Beharie
Watched Second Run at 3:20pm
This film was among the 10 features that competed in the U.S. Dramatic Competition (the past three winners include CODA, Minari, and Clemency). It is yet another feature directorial debut, this time by Abi Damaris Corbin. Though it’s perhaps more somberly known for being one of the two final on-screen performances of Michael K. Williams, who died shortly after filming wrapped last year. The movie is based on a true story of a former Marine, Brian Brown-Easley (John Boyega), who stops receiving his disability checks from Veteran Affairs, and out of enraged frustration, subsequently decides to hold hostages at a Wells Fargo bank in the Atlanta suburbs by declaring he has a bomb in his backpack. While he’s aware his efforts are possibly futile, his demands are simple: have the VA pay him what he’s owed. Given that veterans having to fight with the VA is an all too familiar story, the movie is similarly disheartening.
Boyega is excellent as Brown-Easley. Hopefully, he uses this as a launchpad to further high-quality roles. Williams is also great as the negotiator. Unfortunately, he’s fully utilized only a full hour into the movie. But when this happens, the movie clicks best. However, I don’t believe there’s enough of a story here to justify 100 minutes, and the story that is present is more “message movie” than “good cinema.”
Buyer: Not yet
U.S. debut: TBD
Awards: U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award: Ensemble Cast
Master
Director – Mariama Diallo
Writer – Mariama Diallo
Starring – Regina Hall, Zoe Renee, Amber Gray
Watched Second Run at 7:30pm
My second movie of the festival starring Regina Hall, and my fourth consecutive directorial debut. Mariama Diallo examines the world of East Coast elite private universities and how the institution treats Black people – both students and staff. Taking a clear inspirational cue from Jordan Peele’s Get Out, Diallo sets the story in a horror/thriller structure, but here deeply-seeded racism from white self-proclaimed progressives is paired with supernatural elements to create a relenting horror that stalks its two main characters, the new dean (or “master”) of the university (Hall) and its new Black freshman student (played by newcomer Zoe Renee).
This horror, unfortunately, goes a bit off the rails with a very messy third act; what happens feels less provocative and more directionless. Still, Hall gives her second stand-out performance in Sundance, Renee is also memorable, and the first two acts show strong atmospheric promise for Diallo.
Buyer: Amazon Studios (announced the project in 2019)
U.S. debut: March 18, 2022 (Prime Video)
God’s Country
Director – Julian Higgins
Writer – Mariama Diallo
Starring – Thandiwe Newton, Jeremy Bobb, Joris Jarsky
Watched Global Premiere at 10:30pm
This was probably my favorite of the six. Another directorial debut, Julian Higgins works with writer Shaye Ogbonna to produce a script that’s deeply rooted in the current American climate, while not for one second taking its eyes off the humanity of its characters. Thandiwe Newton plays Sandra Guidry, a retired cop from New Orleans who’s moved to rural Montana. Without her permission, two nearby residents park on her property before embarking on a hunting trip, and Sandra takes exception to this. She’s clearly tough as nails, not stepping aside for anyone, but the script does a good job of showing this as both a benefit and flaw in her personality.
Higgins does an excellent job of slowing things down to a pace appropriate to Montana backcountry. There’s also some excellent sweeping cinematography. But the best part of the film is the character of Sandra and Newton’s work, who gives the performance of her career, full stop. She is entirely invested in the role, in every second of every frame, and I was utterly absorbed. I think there’s a superfluous and distracting subplot about equal opportunity employment, but God’s Country is otherwise a tight, neo-Western dramatic thriller, and I’m looking forward to re-watching it.
Buyer: Not yet
U.S. debut: TBD
Awards: Sundance Institute/Amazon Studios Producers Award for Fiction
Resurrection
Director – Andrew Semans
Writer – Andrew Semans
Starring – Rebecca Hall, Tim Roth, Grace Kaufman
Watched Second Run at 7:30pm (January 24)
The only movie I watched at Sundance that neither showcased a directorial debut nor played on Sunday. This is also easily my second favorite from the festival. As good as Newton was in God’s Country, Rebecca Hall is even more amazing here. The story is about Hall’s Margaret, a bad-ass working, single mom of teenage Abbie. While at a conference, she spots a man, played by Tim Roth, and becomes inexorably shaken by his appearance; so much so that she runs out. She then continues to see this man throughout her day-to-day life with each occurrence upsetting Margaret further.
Resurrection has the feel of a 70s paranoia thriller combined with the messed-up relationship from Possession, the obsessiveness from Don’t Look Now, and the horrific impact of a Cronenberg body horror. And yet, unlike other movies at Sundance, its inspirations are stirred evenly, leaving Resurrection feeling distinctly its own thing. It’s well-paced with great atmospherics and is continuously surprising. And while Roth is very good, Hall steals the show, with a performance that echoes Isabelle Adjani. I can’t wait to see this one again.
Buyer: IFC Films and Shudder
U.S. debut: TBD
So, there you have it: my Sundance 2022 round-up! It was a very cool experience to virtually attend, and I loved exploring new movies and filmmakers. To one degree or another, I recommend all six I watched. But it was the final two, God’s Country and Resurrection, that stood out the most.
Chris Trengove has a BFA in acting, an MA from the University of Denver in international relations, and during the day, he works for the economic development agency of Northern Ireland. While he’s lived in Denver, Washington D.C., and Beijing, he calls Chicago home and has for most of his life. He lives with his wife (Laura) and two young boys (Aiden and Callum), and within a 20-minute walk of the Music Box Theater. Follow Chris on Letterboxd and Twitter.