This year’s edition of Sundance featured coming-of-age turmoil by Lena Dunham, social commentary horror by Carlota Pereda and indie sleaze documentary nostalgia in early 2000s New York
This year, the best of the films on offer at the Sundance Film Festival delivered intimate and detailed studies of characters in crisis; people coming to terms with the shape of the world and their position in its ever-changing landscape. Focus ranged from the freedom of female sexual expression to the challenges of defying oppressive forces in dangerous situations. From Lena Dunham’s long-awaited comeback film to a documentary about the New York rock scene in the early 2000s, the following six features are deserving of your attention.
Emergency, 2022 (Lead image)
Carey Williams’ agonising satirical thriller Emergency proved one of the festival’s most memorable selections. The story follows a group of Black and Latino college friends who wrestle with the decision to call the police when a white girl is found passed out on their living room floor. What ensues is a stressful adventure spread over the course of one night, as the friends face increasingly challenging circumstances in an attempt to take the girl to the hospital. Carefully balancing dark comedy and the gravity of the group’s fear, Emergency is an expertly controlled narrative about the reality of life for people of colour in the face of police violence, and a tender exploration of the meaning of friendship.
Sharp Stick, 2022
The ever-divisive Lena Dunham presented her new film as writer and director, Sharp Stick, an endearingly weird comedy about a young woman finding her sexuality. Taking its cues from both mumblecore and the work of Miranda July, Dunham’s film follows Sarah Jo as she seeks out new and exciting sexual encounters having experienced nothing in her 26 years so far. After a hysterectomy at 17 due to the agony of endometriosis – a procedure Dunham herself underwent – Sarah Jo has been trapped in a childish youth until she loses her virginity to the father of a child she looks after. From there, a wave of erotic expression is unleashed. Charmingly idiosyncratic, Sharp Stick takes a gentle and fun approach to personal growth.
Good Luck to You, Leo Grande, 2022
An interesting companion to Sharp Stick is the latest film by director Sophie Hyde (Animals), Good Luck to You, Leo Grande. Written by British comedian Katy Brand, the film stars an electric Emma Thompson as retired widow Nancy seeking sexual gratification for the first time in her life. She’s chosen sex worker Leo Grande (Daryl McCormack) to give her what she needs, but her anxiety and self-consciousness as an older, inexperienced woman still hinder her. With unexpected emotional sincerity, the film offers a moving portrait of self-acceptance as Nancy and Leo work together to unlock her confidence and find their own particular bond.
Piggy, 2022
Sundance often provides a platform for excellent new genre titles, and a highlight from 2022 was the social commentary horror Piggy: Carlota Pereda’s body-shaming morality tale set in a rural Spanish town. Tormented and unhappy teenager Sara is bullied over her weight by a vicious clique of girls, in a premise that has murmurings of Stephen King’s Carrie. When the girls are kidnapped and terrorised by a violent stranger, Sara finds herself within reach of new powers and fears as the only one who knows what happened. Has their bullying destroyed Sara’s soul for good or can she find it in herself to rescue them, the most undeserving of her help? Pereda’s film grows all the more gruesome and challenging as Sara navigates this difficult choice.
Dos Estaciones, 2022
Documentary filmmaker and cinematographer Juan Pablo González’s entry into fiction filmmaking delivered the bold and accomplished Dos Estaciones: a tale of preservation and defiance in Jalisco, Mexico that simmers with tension. Teresa Sánchez (winner of the World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award for Acting at the festival) plays the uncompromising owner of a tequila factory and community matriarch facing threats to her business from US companies taking over the land. González lets the film’s focus wander to other figures in the town, introducing enlightening subplots and hidden desires into the narrative that manages to be both intimate and expansive.
Meet Me in the Bathroom, 2022
Based on Lizzy Goodman’s 2017 account of the New York rock scene in the early 2000s, Meet Me in the Bathroom chronicles the buzzy high life of The Strokes, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, LCD Soundsystem and their contemporaries. Built entirely from archival footage, the documentary offers a nostalgic tour through recent history – a time when small venues were leading the charge in discovering new artists, pre-social media and the advent of online streaming. It’s not all rock ‘n’ roll, however, as dynamic frontwoman Karen O struggles with finding her place in a male-dominated sphere and band members’ drug addictions escalate, but directors Dylan Southern and Will Lovelace find a balance between wistfulness and reality in a captivating way.
