LIZZIE
Starring Kristen Stewart (donning a spotty Irish brogue) and Chloe Sevigny in a career-best performance as Lizzie Borden, this psychological horror drama presents the events leading up to the famous 1892 ax murders in Fall River, Massachusetts. While the film leaves little doubt as to who the culprit is, history tells us that Lizzie Borden was never found guilty for her crimes and that a suspect was never brought to justice. Seemingly right up the alley of a horror nut like me, LIZZIE didn't do much for me apart from Sevigny's marvelous performance and a nice, nasty dose of gore in the third act. I found the direction relatively void of passion and the drama to lack any real urgency until the last 30-45 minutes.
NANCY
This one's a bit hard to describe. Andrea Riseborough gives a career-defining performance in the title role as a woman who often deceives others in order to feel some emotional connection to someone or something. She begins to suspect that she may have been kidnapped as a young child. Following the death of her harsh adoptive mother (Ann Dowd), Nancy reaches out to a grieving couple (Steve Buscemi, J. Smith-Cameron) whose daughter was kidnapped thirty years prior. Drama ensues.
Gorgeously photographed, and arguably the best acted piece I've seen so far this festival, NANCY is a standout despite its bleak nature.
SORRY TO BOTHER YOU
Good Lord. Lakeith Stanfield stars as young, hotshot telemarketer Cassius Green. He lives with his artist girlfriend (Tessa Thompson) in an alternate version of Oakland, California. Cassius quickly discovers a key to success which propels him into a deliriously macabre plot orchestrated by a cocaine-snorting, orgy-hosting CEO (Armie Hammer). And that, dear reader, is all you need to know. Ask no questions; just see the shit out of it.
ARIZONA
This horror-comedy tailor-made for the midnight munchies crowd stars Rosemarie DeWitt as Cassie, a real estate agent outside of Phoenix who finds her world crumbling during the housing crisis of the late 2000s. When she witnesses an accidental murder, Cassie faces a series of ensuing events that threaten her life and that of her teenage daughter (Lolli Sorensen). Starring Danny McBride as the increasingly desperate Sonny and Luke Wilson as Cassie's concerned ex-husband, ARIZONA is a frequently hilarious midnight romp with some surprisingly effective shocks. Developed over the course of nearly a decade by McBride, Jody Hill, and David Gordon Green, ARIZONA instills a bit of confidence that the upcoming HALLOWEEN flick may in fact be in perfectly capable hands.
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