Sundance 2023: "Scrapper," "Bad Behaviour," and "Girl"
Capsule reviews of my first three films at this year's Sundance Film Festival.
As I began Sundancing yesterday, interestingly, my first three films had quite a connection. All were feature directorial debuts from women about the complicated nature of parenthood that still vary in storytelling and aesthetic.
Scrapper:
Charlotte Regan’s feature debut is a simple story about a resourceful young girl Georgie (Lola Campbell) connecting with her long lost father Jason (Harris Dickinson) who appears in her life out of literal nowhere. After his sudden appearance, Georgie shows understandable skepticism before growing closer the longer he stays. As straightforward as the plot may be, it still thrives immensely thanks to its earnest central performances from Lola Campbell and especially Harris Dickinson. Dickinson is exquisite as a man eager to be a better father while trying to learn how to be a good one.
Grade: B
Jennifer Connelly stars in Alice Englert’s feature debut “Bad Behaviour” which is premiering at Sundance.
Bad Behaviour:
Despite being an Oscar winner, Jennifer Connelly feels weirdly underrated as an actress. So, when I read the plot of Bad Behaviour where she plays Lucy, a former child star mentally unraveling, I got excited because it seemed like a role for her to really sink her teeth into. Thankfully, Connelly does just that in this absurdist, darkly funny take on mother-daughter relationships from writer-director-co-star Alice Englert. I’m still stuck between like and love because I’m not sure its tonal shifts work entirely. But it’s a thrill watching for Jennifer Connelly go all in, giving what might be her best work since Requiem for a Dream.
Grade: B
Girl:
Adura Onashile’s directorial debut is an intricate telling of the anxieties of motherhood. Once Grace (a quietly heartbreaking Déborah Lukumena) sees her daughter Ama (Le’Shantey Bonsu) make a new friend at school, she can already feel the small space the two of them have created slip away, feeling lonelier than before in her day-to-day life. As the actresses successfully convey the turbulent mother-daughter bond, the movie becomes a similarly strong technical exercise. The neon-lighting by cinematographer Tasha Back reflects the majestic space Grace and Ama have along with the exultant score by Ré Olunuga.
Meanwhile, the script expertly relies on characters’ actions to tell the story more than heavy exposition. Although its understated storytelling won’t work for everyone, Girl remains a well-constructed picture that’s as visually poetic as it is heart-wrenching.
Grade: B+/A-