Last weekend, after 10 days and 200 films, Sundance concluded another exciting indie film festival. We’re disappointed we couldn’t be there, but Street has, of course, been keeping up with the latest buzz. Here are some of our most anticipated Sundance features that were recently picked up by distributors:
Nowhere Boy
A John Lennon biopic! The film documents the singer’s attempt to reconnect with his estranged mother and examines how his troubled childhood shaped his artistic development. Writer Matt Greenhalgh (Control) limits his focus to the musician’s youth, before the name “The Beatles” was even decided upon, thus treating us to a largely unexplored moment in the singer’s life.
Starring: Aaron Johnson, Kristin Scott Thomas
Directed by: Sam Taylor Wood
Hesher
After his mother dies, TJ and his father attempt to put their lives back on track. Surprisingly, help comes in the form of an anarchist who hates the world. Sporting long, greasy hair and tattoos, Gordon-Levitt plays Hesher, a man who likes being shirtless, starting fires and watching explosions. However, he forms an unlikely connection with TJ and soon moves in to help get the family back on track.
Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Natalie Portman
Directed by: Spencer Susser
The Kids are All Right
This drama follows a lesbian couple and their two teenage children. Before the oldest daughter leaves for college, her younger brother asks her for help to find their biological father. After a call to the sperm bank, he arrives on the scene, complicating the family dynamics. After a dry year for LGBT cinema, this delicate look at modern families took Sundance by storm.
Starring: Julianne Moore, Annette Bening
Directed by: Lisa Cholodenko
Buried
After his convoy is attacked in Iraq, an American contractor finds himself buried alive in a coffin with nothing but a lighter and cell phone. There is only one on-screen actor in the film, and thus we are anxious to see how this simplistic, terrifying and claustrophobic premise plays out.
Starring: Ryan Reynolds
Directed by: Rodrigo Cortes
