892

After hitting countless roadblocks trying to receive well-earned benefits, Marine veteran Brian Easley (John Boyega) turns desperate. Letters and phone calls clearly aren’t cutting it so his last resort is to rob a bank until lost payments are reinstated, even if it kills him. Those wages are meant for his long-suffering family but getting them will prove harder than it looks. While “892” is not just another “Dog Day Afternoon” knock-off, the film does suffer from a been-there-done-that structure. Boyega commits to the role and co-lead Nicole Beharie matches him, playing a stressed out bank employee. The late Michael K. Williams also appears as a hostage negotiator in his final onscreen performance.

ALICE

The years have been hard on Alice (Keke Palmer), enslaved on a Georgia plantation for as long as she can remember. Escaping the daily nightmare is always on her mind and the opportunity finally presents itself after an altercation with slave owner Paul (Jonny Lee Miller). But after breaking free from captivity, the outside world will hold a cruel and rude awakening for the newly released Alice. The before and after of this predicament make up both halves of “Alice” and neither one fully works, mostly due to wild exaggerations and overacting, especially in the film’s forehead-slapping finale. Eagle-eyed viewers will recall that 2020’s “Antebellum” dealt with similar subject matter, and while that film wasn’t a masterpiece either, it was certainly better than this one.

SPEAK NO EVIL

Two seemingly mismatched families meet during a Tuscan holiday and hit it off instantly. Things go so well that they even plan for a future getaway at a secluded countryside estate. It’s at this point where “Speak No Evil” shifts gears from a comedy of errors to a dark and terrifying, cautionary tale. Macabre secrets are revealed and horror tropes are put on display, including going into rooms you should stay away from and not leaving a dangerous situation when it’s the only logical solution. The last twenty minutes are the most tense and gruesome by far but they also don’t feel earned. They’re a shocking left turn from an otherwise engaging film.

SUMMERING

Director James Ponsoldt (“The Spectacular Now”) returns to Sundance with a different kind of coming of age story. Set in the final days of a long summer vacation, four young girls are getting ready to say their goodbyes and head off to middle school. Bored and carefree, an aimless walk and talk will lead the group to make a surprising discovery. Keeping it a secret won’t be easy and forcing that silence to stick will make them mature faster than they initially expected. “Summering” is made in the tradition of “Stand By Me” and like that seminal story, deals with tough life lessons about growing up. Results vary but the pace is laid back enough to connect with some of the film’s central themes.

All photos courtesy of Sundance Institute