Day 4 at Sundance 2021
JOCKEY
Courtesy of Sundance Institute
Jackson’s glory days as a professional horse jockey are long behind him. Scraping by at the local racetrack and maintaining a leisurely lifestyle are what life affords him now but when fate throws him a curveball, the future may not look so bad after all. The story structure of a has-been athlete returning to the spotlight for one last shot at greatness is nothing new, but the secret ingredient that makes “Jockey” stand out is lead actor Clifton Collins Jr. (“Once Upon A Time in Hollywood”). After years of putting in solid supporting work in countless films, “Jockey” is the first time he’s taken center stage and commanded the screen in a way that will show new fans what the rest of us have known all along.
Rating: B
LAND
Courtesy of Sundance Institute
It’s surprising that “Land” is Robin Wright’s first turn behind the camera, especially because her directorial eye is so assured and inviting. Mostly set in the Rocky Mountains, Wright plays Edee, a woman fleeing a psychological trauma who finds more comfort in the forest than in the big city she’s known most of her life. Adapting to the wilderness doesn’t prove easy and after a life-threatening close call with nature, she’s rescued by a local hunter (Demian Bichir) who shows her the ropes of surviving isolation in the middle of nowhere. “Land” is full of beautiful landscapes but also has something to say about the human condition, marking a solid first feature from the iconic Robin Wright.
Rating: B
EL PLANETA
Courtesy of Sundance Institute
Leo has just returned home to Spain after a long absence and instead of being greeted with open arms and kindness, she is forced to tackle the stress of a delusional mother deep in debt. The duo (played by the real life mother-daughter team of Amalia and Ale Ulman) figure that the best way to pay off their bills is to steal as much and as quickly as possible, leading to even more headaches and misadventures along the way. “El Planeta” starts out fun and whimsical but quickly loses steam despite its short running time. Many scenes drag on and feel improv-heavy in the film’s second half, making it feel like this black-and-white comedy would have worked better as a short film.
Rating: C+
PRISONERS OF THE GHOSTLAND
Courtesy of Sundance Institute
Nicolas Cage’s latest low-rent vehicle is not the winner many expected it to be. Despite being paired this time with Sion Sono, a director who is on the same wavelength of madness as Cage himself, “Prisoners of the Ghostland” is less “Mandy” and more of the schlock we’re used to from the unnecessarily prolific thespian. The film plays like an acid take on “Escape From New York”, with Cage playing a bank robber forced to rescue human cargo from the depths of hell before the clock runs out. As straight forward as that may sound, “Prisoners of the Ghostland” insists on keeping things as weird as possible, mostly working against the film’s benefit. It says something when one of the highlights of Cage’s performance is hearing his unique shriek after losing a testicle. A low bar, indeed.
Rating: C-
TOGETHER TOGETHER
Courtesy of Sundance Institute
Matt (Ed Helms) may be in his 40’s but he’s ready to have a baby, even if it’s with surrogate Anna (Patti Harrison), a 26-year-old grad student looking for extra cash. Complications ensue in this very straight-forward comedy that begins as an homage to Woody Allen films only to quickly change course and eviscerate his filmography by the halfway point. The chemistry between Helms and Harrison is the super glue that holds “Together Together”, for lack of a better word, together. But the film stumbles in its last act as it literally races to the finish line by wrapping up all of its loose ends as quickly and clumsily as possible.
Rating: B-
VIOLATION
Courtesy of Sundance Institute
Two couples meet up at a picturesque cabin getaway only to find out that their marital troubles are the last thing they should be worried about. There is a predator among them and it may not be who you’d most likely suspect. Sexual and mental lines are crossed, culminating in graphic bloodshed and amputations reminiscent of “Antichrist”. What’s real and what’s imagined within the character’s psyche are up to you to decide but “Violation” makes it clear that playing things nice and safe are not an option. This wild ride becomes tedious and exhausting by the end, peaking early and spinning its wheels during its final minutes.
Rating: C
