By Roger Costa
TAILGATE
We live in stressful times, and some people really can’t control their aggressiveness. Transit is definitely one of the most targeted places to generate all sorts of confrontations, verbally, recklessly and fatal accidents. One rushing contemporary family has no idea what’s on plate for them, when facing the consequences of a weird conflict between the patriarch and a strangely sinister van driver. That happens to be a serial killer, who hunts down his victims after somehow, they insult him in traffic. In the opening scene we see him mercilessly killing a cyclist using his poison gun, and next we learn of his motives for such brutality. A modern family, formed of an arrogant father, a clueless mother, and two smart-phone-oriented, sweetly stubborn daughters, they are the representation of suburban homes affected by overwhelming lifestyle, whose short vacation (on the way to celebrate grandpa’s birthday) turns into hell when they cross the same road with a psychopath. Though the narrative is structured as a dark comedy, a bizarre and irreverent look at society’s reckless manners and lack of patience, Dutch writer-director Lodewijk Crijns manages to craft a surprisingly tense thriller, an efficient road rage trip, filled with hilarious situations as a bonus, that turns out to be scarier and more disturbing than recent horror hits at the multiplexes.
(Film Movement. 7/30. In Virtual Cinemas and On Demand.)
THE EVENING HOUR
An acclaimed selection at Rotterdam, Torino and Sundance Film Festivals, this highly sincere and precisely urgent depiction of the opioids crisis in rural America is a great demonstration of the potential found in director Braden King’s stylish and authentic storytelling. Adapted from the novel by Carter Sickels, it brings a patiently moving performance by Philip Ettinger, so charismatic and involving that easily confirms him as one of the best actors of his generation. He plays a young nurse from a religious family who promptly does his job taking care of elderly patients as well as providing for his grandmother. Most of his earnings come from his on-the-side job, which is reselling his patients’ prescription drugs to varied addicts in the community, from old, wounded folks, to young junkies. Deeply engaging, King extracts from the narrative a compelling character study, anchored by Ettinger’s emotionally detailed embodiment of male insecurity and silent fragility. Confronted by the arrival of his estranged mother, his romantic adventures, and the risky intermission of an old friend who’s aiming to benefit from his lucrative scheme, he must decide how to maintain his business and his integrity among community without hurting or risking others. Serene and unsettling at equal levels, King imprints a firm hand in the material, evoking a style that was predominant in the early works of David Gordon Green, also displayed on his choices of locations, soundtrack and visual techniques. While following this young hustler, a mixture of a good-hearted thief and dealer just trying to make ends meet and sleep in peace, the film explores the consequences and wounds of fractured relationships destroyed by drug addiction and greed, all while brilliantly paving the way for a powerful and timely look at the pursuit for the American Dream.
(Strand Releasing. 7/30. IFC Center.)
NEVER GONNA SNOW AGAIN
An authentic and ahead-of-her-time provocateur, Polish filmmaker Malgorzata Szumowska is certainly one of the strongest female directors working today. With a career engaged on the exploration of identity, social, religious and sexual, she has given audiences the pleasure to experience enigmatic pieces such as “Elles”, “In the Name Of”, “Mug”, and last year’s psychological thriller “The Other Lamb”.
Sharing the directing and writing credits with Michael Englert, the duo magically explores the role of a “healer” over a wealthy community with this masterly crafted surreal social satire.
Winner of a Special Mention Award at Venice, and an acclaimed selection at Telluride, the film was also Poland’s entry for the Oscars, bringing a hypnotic performance by Alec Utgoff (“Stranger Things”) as the protagonist. He plays an immigrant masseur sort of a guru who helps healing his ridiculously rich clients’ stressful and pretty empty lives. With his special, magical hands, he can take them away from their realities, providing a personal portal to a mystical forest where they find themselves. His relationship with each of them represents topics of compassion and empathy, as he becomes entangled with their traumas, fears and desires. He is also in constant meditation with his past, memories of childhood and difficult connection to his mother, creating a nostalgically fantastic atmosphere.
Wondrously shot with a magical sense that resembles the works of Fellini, Szumowska conceives a top-notch, elegant comedy of manners, an allegoric spectacle about social behavior, the immigrant condition, the consequences of capitalism, radioactive issues and the urgency of global warming. It is also a deeply moving look at vulnerable saddened souls, overwhelmed by their own lifestyle choices. Alluring and provocative, it is one of this year’s best films.
(Kino Lorber. 7/30. Quad Cinemas and BAM.)
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