Film Feature: The 10 Best Films of Sundance 2014

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The Overnighters
Photo credit: Sundance

5. “The Overnighters”

In a small town named Williston in North Dakota, a modern Deadwood has sprung up. Men who have been beaten by the depression have come from all over the country looking for work. None of them have a place to live. Enter Pastor Reinke, a community leader who begins the “Overnighters” program, allowing these men to sleep in his parking lot or even his church floor. The fact is that some of them are criminals and violence rises in the community. At what point is charity too dangerous to the innocent people around you? Pastor Reinke is one of those unforgettable documentary characters, a man who may not be as charitable or forthcoming a person as you first assume him to be. He’s fascinating and Jesse Moss’ film about him becomes an examination of how much the recession has impacted the entire country, bringing out the good and bad sides of all of us.

Blue Ruin
Photo credit: Sundance

4. “Blue Ruin”

This wonderful thriller has made the fest rounds for some time now, even playing at the Chicago International Film Festival, but I didn’t catch up with it until Park City, and so it qualifies. With echoes of the Coens’ “Blood Simple” in its precision, dark humor, and bursts of violence, this tale of a vagrant (a great Macon Blair) starting the cycle of vengeance when a man from his past is released from prison, is wildly entertaining. It’s coming out soon here in Chicago and it will surely hit a sweet spot for those looking for a little blood and guts with their independent drama. Smart, bitterly funny, and incredibly well-made.

Hellion
Photo credit: Sundance

3. “Hellion”

My most emotional response in Park City came in the form of Kat Candler’s dissection of the impact of grief on parenthood in her excellent “Hellion,” with a great turn from Aaron Paul and a stunning breakthrough from the young Josh Wiggins. The latter plays Jacob Wilson, a young man on the verge of being torn from his family due to his criminal behavior after the loss of his mother. As he watches his younger brother on the precipice of himself being taken away, Jacob has to pull himself from the quicksand of the unimaginable grief of not having your mother around any more. Paul is stellar here and I don’t think Candler got the credit she deserved for telling such an admittedly-familiar story in such a believable way. I may be biased given how close I am to my sons (and this being a story about fathers & sons) but I can’t deny my response to the film. It’s a powerful one.

Calvary
Photo credit: Sundance

2. “Calvary”

John Michael McDonagh’s drama is a philosophically dense, challenging examination of the need for faith in an era in which the institution of religion is becoming less essential. Brendan Gleeson does what could be career-best work as a Father in a small town who is told that he will be murdered in about a week. Through conversation with his parish and those who gave up church for the pub long ago, “Calvary” becomes not unlike a sermon. McDonagh spins his themes, sometimes in ways that can lose the viewer, but brings them all back together in such a powerful manner that it didn’t even really hit me until the shuttle home. And then I was practically overwhelmed with emotion. Faith, vengeance, forgiveness, and sacrifice — “Calvary” is the kind of challenging film that rewards discussion and examination. Fox Searchlight snagged it quickly and I hope they can get it to as large an audience as possible. It’s a great film.

Life Itself
Photo credit: Sundance

1. “Life Itself”

I’ll be the first to admit to the fact that it’s impossible to separate my personal history with Roger Ebert with the way I responded to a film about him but I still think that I can accurately discern, even with the emotions I brought to it, that Steve James has made a fantastic film. He approaches his subject in a way that would make Ebert, who was himself a “newspaperman,” proud. He approaches him from all angles — a little history, a little Russ Meyer, a little Siskel, a little Chaz, etc. It creates a comprehensive look at a life driven by passion, not just for movies but for life itself.

By BRIAN TALLERICO Content Director HollywoodChicago.com brian@hollywoodchicago.com