Sundance Film Review: 'Certain Women'

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Actor James Jordan, from left, actress Sara Rodier, actor Jared Harris, actor James LeGros, actress Kristen Stewart, director and writer Kelly Reichardt and actress Lily Gladstone pose at the premiere of ‘Certain Women’ during the 2016 Sundance Film Festival. — AP

Sundance film review: ‘Certain Women’ Director Jason Benjamin, center, poses with pro- ducers, Jenni Konner, left, and Lena Dunham for a ew contemporary filmmakers can do intricate braiding of the three stories in tity lends passive emotional complexity to a heartland, Gina’s story is the most coolly portrait to promote the film, ‘Suited,’ at the Toyota quite as much with quiet as Kelly question. Revelation-concerned narrative later section. Focus shifts to a legal case that oblique of the three; what follows is the Mirai Music Lodge during the Sundance Film FReichardt. Superficially empty sound- splicing has become such a familiar feature has become something of a thorn in her most bittersweetly open-hearted, as a Festival. — AP scapes are layered so intricately with the of the US independent filmmaking scene side, as construction laborer Fuller (Jared nameless Native American horse rancher erek needed a suit for his wedding. Aiden rustle of nature, the brooding of weather that it’s positively bracing to see Reichardt- Harris, devastatingly ragged) obstinately (Lily Gladstone) aimlessly seeks a personal needed something for his bar mitzvah. and the breathing of preoccupied people also acting, with graceful discernment, as pursues an injury claim that a legal techni- connection at an adult education center. DEverett wanted a sharp interview outfit. All that her films come to seem positively noisy her own editor-unfold her mini-dramas one cality prevents him from winning. Taking lit- Stumbling by chance into a class on educa- three found their fit at Bindle & Keep, a custom cloth- to a sympathetic ear. So it is in the mar- at a time, letting the sometimes faint con- tle heed of her counsel-because she’s a tional law for teachers, she develops an ier that specializes in dressing people across the gen- velous “Certain Women,” where the story- nections between them emerge with little woman, Laura concludes with the weari- intense but innocent fascination with its der spectrum. The New York-based company and its telling has a similarly latent impact. fanfare, revisiting their principal characters ness of experience-he implicates her in a young tutor, Beth (Stewart), a socially awk- clients are the subject of “Suited,” a documentary pre- Separating the spare narratives of several only in the final reels. If Paul Haggis’s “Crash” more violent course of action. ward law graduate who lives many towns miered yesterday at the Sundance Film Festival. disparate Montana women-a morally literalized the idea of storytelling as auto- over. The two develop a mutually bemused The film introduces viewers to people rarely seen stressed lawyer, a nest-building mother, a motive collision, “Certain Women” prefers to Vintage sandstone rapport over post-class diner meals, though onscreen - transgender men - and shows how find- lonely ranch hand-waiting indefinitely for let its vehicles pass each other with an Cut to Gina (Williams), discontentedly when Beth abruptly quits the job, the terms ing a suit that highlights their masculinity profoundly their worlds to fall into place, it’s a peculiarly acknowledging wave-apt enough for a film wrapping up a rural camping weekend with of their new, ambiguously platonic friend- affects how they feel and see themselves. Lena riveting examination of the lives lived when in which human contact doesn’t come easi- her husband, Ryan (James Le Gros), and ship become harder to parse. Dunham and Jenni Konner produced the film, the even their owners aren’t looking. There are no tidily concrete thematic third documentary from their Casual Romance pro- Crafted with Reichardt’s customary cali- ties to be found between these slender, duction company. It is directed by Jason Benjamin, co-textured beauty and expertly performed piquant slices of life, though all touch on who also works as the boom-mike operator on by such hand-picked ensemble players as the generalities of human alienation and Dunham’s HBO show, “Girls.” Kristen Stewart, Michelle Williams and Laura solitude for which E.M. Forster issued the Benjamin was inspired by a newspaper article Dern, this unapologetically open-ended poetic prescription to “only connect.” As about the suit-makers, expecting the moment some- slow burn probably won’t convert many with Reichardt’s more streamlined minia- one put on a perfectly fitted suit for the first time viewers to Reichardt’s softly-softly sensibili- tures, regional detail accounts for much of would be a happy one. “In reality,” he said, “it turned ty, but it’s among her richest, most refined the film’s lingering resonance, as her char- out to be a much more complex moment that had works. Like a number of Reichardt’s previ- acters are molded by (and, in some cases, happiness folded into it.” That’s what makes “Suited” so ous films, “Certain Women” has its roots in rail against) the landscape they inhabit. much more than a movie about clothes. It’s really a the short-story format-one naturally con- “Certain Women” is the director’s fifth film story about people, image and gender identity. ducive to her flair for teasing larger lives to be set against the pregnant skies and Benjamin follows his subjects beyond the tailor’s office and deeper longings out of passing every- cornbread-colored grasslands of and into the world, exploring the challenges they face day incidents. Her literary inspiration this America’s Northwest-painted with misty as they try to get married, grow up or get jobs. time is Montana-based author Maile Meloy, iridescence on 16mm by Reichardt’s reli- Being fitted for a suit is an intimate process - espe- with Reichardt’s elegantly apportioned ably brilliant cinematographer cially when one is trying to minimize features that don’t script drawn from her stories “Tome,” “Native Christopher Blauvelt-and there’s a not- fit their self-image. Derek wanted to be sure he would Sandstone” and “Travis B.” wholly-rueful sense here of indigenous blend in with the other men at his wedding. Everett, an tradition and etiquette passing into histo- attorney, needed a suit that wouldn’t prompt his col- Gentle joke ry. All the women here, however put- leagues to question his gender. Aiden, only 13, was The director’s chosen title, however, is at upon, are independent in ways that defy accompanied by his grandmother, who wanted him to once calculatedly vague and mournfully their staid surroundings. feel confident at his bar mitzvah. Dunham said she was moved by the men and their families. ironic. Read one way, “Certain Women” Actress Kristen Stewart is interviewed at the premiere of “Certain Women”. Though this is arguably the most illus- implies a kind of unnamed randomness to trious ensemble Reichardt has ever had to “This movie breaks down certain stereotypes of Reichardt’s chosen female subjects, as if any ly to the yearning, inward-looking women perma-sullen teenage daughter Guthrie hand, the pic’s performance style is as how a family might react to a person being trans,” she number of adjacent women’s lives might at its center. (Sara Rodier). Fatigued by tetchy family life, casually organic and democratic as in any said. “It really shows examples of people loving their have been equally worthy of the film’s To describe the film’s individual seg- she pours her efforts into constructing a of her more scrappily cast early projects. children, not just in spite of their being trans but attention. Read another, it’s perhaps a gen- ments on paper is not to do them many symbol of idealized domestic unity: a There’s complete onscreen parity, for because of who they are and because of their brav- tle joke at the expense of characters for favors, even when they include such woodland weekend cottage that she example, between a relative newcomer ery.” “Suited” is set to air in June on HBO. — AP whom certainty is in achingly short supply: notionally hefty events as an armed intends to build, with preciously modish like Gladstone and a megawatt star like It’s hardly a spoiler to say that none of the hostage situation-as staged by Reichardt, integrity, entirely from repurposed native Stewart-both unobtrusively superb-while pic’s delicate strands hinges on anything returning to her trademark tender human- materials. Yet this ostensibly noble goal Williams, in her third collaboration with like a drastic dramatic decision. ism after the icy genre stylings of “Night entails a degree of selfish manipulation, as Reichardt, underplays with terse modesty. Viewers accustomed to the knotty “Short Moves,” surely the lowest-key such standoff she and Ryan press on doddery family Playing most recognizably to a star per- Cuts” school of multiple short-story adapta- in cinematic history. The first story centers friend (Albert) to sell them the reserve of sona is Dern, if only because said persona tion may take a while to acclimatize to the on small-town lawyer Laura (Dern), intro- vintage sandstone on his property. has been built on the kind of creased, film’s patient, clean-edged structure, which duced in the postcoital stages of an after- Drily satirizing the opportunistic empathetic decency that makes her a opts neither for explicit chaptering nor for noon tryst with a married man-whose iden- exploitation of tradition in the American Reichardt natural. — Reuters Spike Lee’s Michael Jackson doc a tribute to his music

s a young artist, Michael Jackson knew he wanted to be legendary. “I will be magic,” he wrote as a teenager, out- Alining his plans for his career. “I will be better than every From left, actors Kelly Campbell, Emma Greenwell, great actor roped in one.” Jackson’s drive to succeed and his Xavier Samuel, Kate Beckinsale and Chloe Sevigny pos- striking talent as a singer, dancer and songwriter are the focus es at the premiere of “Love & Friendship” during the In this file photo, Mark Wahlberg poses for photog- of Spike Lee’s new documentary, “Michael Jackson’s Journey Sundance Film Festival. — AP photos raphers upon arrival at the premiere of the film from Motown to ‘Off the Wall,’” which made its world premiere “Daddy’s Home” in London. — AP photos Sunday at the Sundance Film Festival. “This film is all about love toward Michael Joseph Jackson,” Stillman tries Jane Lee said as he introduced the film, which is dedicated to Combs, Wahlberg donating Jackson’s children Prince, Paris and “Biji” (formerly Blanket), Austen in charming along with family matriarch Katherine Jackson. Beginning with 1 million bottles of water to Flint the Jackson 5’s earliest songs with Motown Records - featuring ‘Love & Friendship’ a charismatic 9-year-old Michael on lead vocals - the film bottled water company owned in part by Sean explores Jackson’s growth as an artist and the perfectionist hit Stillman, one of our best chroniclers of the modern leisure class, has gone back to the 18th century in “Love “Diddy” Combs and Mark Wahlberg is pledging to nature that fueled his work ethic. & Friendship,” an effervescent comedy about a deviously Adonate 1 million bottles of water to the residents Archival footage of the Jacksons’ performances on “The Ed W ambitious social climber. The film premiered Saturday night at the of Flint, Michigan. AQUAhydrate says it’s sending 5,000 Sullivan Show,” “American Bandstand” and their “Destiny” tour is cases of water to Flint and will continue to provide bottles Sundance Film Festival. In the film, Stillman’s “Last Days of Disco” interspersed with interviews with music industry talents from stars Kate Beckinsale and Chloe Sevigny have traded their early to residents until the city’s water problems are solved. The then and now. Sammy Davis Jr., Gene Kelly, Berry Gordy, Quincy company says the water is expected to be delivered ‘80s sequins and Lacoste for bustles and petticoats. Beckinsale is Jones and Questlove, along with contemporary music produc- Lady Susan Vernon, recently widowed and on the prowl for status, Wednesday. ers Mark Ronson and Rodney Jerkins, are among dozens of money and comforts, while Sevigny plays a married American all High levels of lead voices in the film. Jackson’s brothers Marlon and Jackie also too willing to associate with the notorious Lady Susan. have been detected in appear on screen, but sisters Janet and LaToya do not. We enter the story when Lady Susan takes up an extended vis- Flint’s water since officials “Everyone was invited to participate, but we used those who it at the estate of her sister-in-law, Mrs Catherine Vernon (Emma switched from the Detroit wanted to participate,” said Jackson’s longtime attorney John Greenwall). There she begins a flirtation with Catherine’s younger municipal system and Branca, now executor of Jackson’s estate and a producer of the Musician Questlove, left, and director/producer Spike brother, Reginald De Courcy (Xavier Samuel). No one is particular- began drawing from the film. “Certain (members) of the Jackson family are not quite big Lee pose during the premiere of ‘Michael Jackson’s ly keen on the developing relationship between Lady Susan and Flint River as a cost-saving fans of (fellow attorney) John and I, but that’s fine. We’re trying Journey From Motown to Off the Wall’ during the 2016 the young Reginald De Courcy, and that sentiment is especially measure. Wahlberg and to do right by Michael.” This film makes viewers miss Jackson’s Sundance Film Festival. — AP exaggerated when her neglected and marriage-aged daughter, Combs first invested and dynamic dancing and mellifluous voice while deepening their Jackson for inspiring her love of dance. LA Laker Kobe Bryant Frederica (Morfydd Clark), shows up too. became the face of the appreciation of his talents and endless efforts to hone them. “I says Jackson’s approach to his art “impacted everything for me.” These are only half the players in the game, and it’s fun to Los Angeles-based bot- do believe deeply in perfection,” Jackson says in a 1976 inter- The late Sidney Lumet, who directed Jackson in the 1978 watch them scheme and spread rumors and make deliciously bit- ing remarks about their supposed friends and family for a brisk 92 tled water company in view. It captures Jackson’s evolution from a breakout child star film “The Wiz,” said: “Michael may be the purest talent I’ve ever minutes. Overall, the film is a charming lark, and a definite depar- to a multifaceted adult entertainer determined to transcend 2013. Emenim, Wiz Khalifa seen.” The film follows Jackson’s career until the release of his ture for Stillman as he evolves here beyond his famously precise, and Big Sean are among barriers of race and genre. Even as a teenager, he dreamed of groundbreaking 1979 album “Off the Wall,” which paved the In this file photo, Sean formal language which is usually applied to a more modern set- being able to “translate my music to different countries: Japan, way for 1982’s “Thriller,” the best-selling album in history. It other celebrities who “Diddy” Combs presents ting, whether it be early ‘80s discos or present day dorm rooms Sweden... even Australia.” “He took black music to a place where doesn’t get into Jackson’s personal life or any of the legal trou- have pledged support the award for best collabo- (“Damsels in Distress”). Stillman seems a perfect fit for Victorian it became human music,” Pharrell Williams says in the film. “My bles that would plague him later in life. It’s simply a portrait of a and donations to assist ration of the year at the comedy and the language and customs of Austen, and it works music would not be here if it wasn’t for his music.” Lee goes man and his music. “Michael Jackson’s Journey from Motown to Flint’s water crisis. — AP American Music Awards. well, although it does have the effect of burying some of beyond music, however: Ballerina Misty Copeland credits ‘Off the Wall’” is set to premiere Feb 5 on Showtime. — AP Stillman’s distinctiveness. —AP