As John Lithgow & Olivia Colman broke hearts throughout city in “Jimpa” and theatregoers bounced to Questlove’s sophomore doc about Sly Stone, the Library theater in Park Metropolis obtained bizarre. More and more the situation that the competition employs after they wish to present Sundance attendees one thing a bit off the overwhelmed path, the Park Metropolis Library premiered two options that aren’t like anything in this system.
The higher of the 2 is Emilie Blichfeldt’s “The Ugly Stepsister,” a Shudder authentic that makes use of the traditional story of Cinderella in ways in which Walt Disney might have by no means imagined. Impressed by David Cronenberg’s physique horror oeuvre, it’s nearly a fairy story sibling to Coralie Fargeat’s “The Substance,” a narrative of an obsessive quest for feminine perfection, the story of a poor woman put via absolute torture to woo a nugatory Prince Charming. As soon as it turns into clear the place it’s going, it takes a bit of too lengthy to get there—there’s a tighter model that doesn’t lose the momentum that this one generally does—however it’s an undeniably vicious piece of leisure, anchored by a fearless, breathtaking efficiency from Lea Myren because the title character.
Myren performs Elvira, the oldest daughter of the merciless Rebekka (Ane Dahl Torp), who has simply married a person she presumed rich till discovering on his pre-credits demise that he was broke. Elvira has a quietly assured youthful sister named Alma (Flo Fagerli), and, after all, they each have a brand new stepsister named Agnes (Thea Sofie Loch Næss), aka Cinderella. With no cash to their title, Rebekka positions Elvira to be the belle of the upcoming ball on the palace, hoping that she will be able to marry their household into cash. Which means that Elvira has to go a merciless ending college that bullies her emotionally and bodily, inserting a heavy emphasis on weight. Elvira will get a nostril job that gives an early movie warning that that is going to get dangerous. After which there’s the tapeworm.
Along with her splendidly expressive eyes, Myren is a revelation right here, fastidiously sustaining the whole tone of the piece with Blichfeldt. “The Ugly Stepsister” might have been two hours of abject torture, however Myren’s naïve hope that she would be the Princess comes via in each scene, permitting us to root for her as an individual as a substitute of only a gadget in a brutal horror movie. The upcoming ball offers the movie an efficient ticking clock—we all know it’s not going to go effectively. The one query is how grotesque it’s going to get. (The reply is very.)
Blichfeldt additionally will get notable assists from her craft group, together with manufacturing design that teeters brilliantly between realism and fairy story. And DOP Marcel Zyskind (“The Lifeless Don’t Damage”) enhances the manufacturing with a glance that recollects shot-on-film European horror of the ‘70s and ‘80s.
“The Ugly Stepsister” does have a brutal inevitability that might be a disadvantage for some individuals. There’s one thing soul-crushing about watching poor Elvira get pushed to the brink of mortality for 2 hours, and I get that being an excessive amount of for sure viewers, together with the one on the premiere who actually vomited into the aisle. Though if you recognize what you’re moving into, Myren’s efficiency and the constantly spectacular world of the movie justify the journey. In any case, attempting to be a princess can get actually ugly.
There’s an identical “not for everybody” tone to Amanda Kramer’s “By Design,” a movie that I love for its sheer audacity greater than admire for its execution. There are some sharp concepts in “By Design” and one wonderful efficiency, however it usually struggles to tie these concepts collectively in a coherent means, carrying out its welcome lengthy earlier than it’s over. After I left, I advised a colleague, “That may be a film for somebody however that somebody just isn’t me.” And which may sound like evading precise criticism, however I do consider that one thing as audaciously authentic as Kramer’s movie can be going to be extremely subjective. It’s like efficiency artwork or interpretative dance: Both it speaks to you, or it doesn’t. This one doesn’t fairly have sufficient to say for me.
“By Design” was launched as having considered one of Sundance’s finest loglines, and it’s definitely an authentic one. It’s a physique swap film with a chunk of furnishings. Camille (Juliette Lewis) is a lady who turns right into a chair. Sure, actually. After considered one of her weekly lunches along with her mates (Samantha Mathis, Robin Tunney – each strong), the trio goes to a retailer and Camille spots a stunning chair. When she returns the subsequent day to purchase it, she’s knowledgeable that somebody beat her to it, after which, effectively, Camille’s soul enters the chair. Her physique stays at house in a catatonic state that doesn’t appear to hassle her mates or her mom, who proceed to have interaction with the lifeless Camille as if nothing’s flawed. Her soul enters the chair, which results in the condo of a person named Olivier (Mamoudou Athie), who mainly turns into as infatuated with it as Camille.
What we possess and admire is one thing that defines us. Folks usually really feel like they “should have one thing” in a register that’s just like wanting one other human being. Kramer takes the type of sensual obsession we will have with objects to extremes in a movie that always breaks into sensual dance numbers and works in a dialogue register that might precisely be known as mannered. Credit score to Kramer for locating an ensemble who might match her tone, however it’s Athie who actually elevates the manufacturing, discovering a lithe sensuality in his motion that shifts the vitality of the movie in a extra fascinating route that what first appears like little greater than a satire of suburban ladies.
As a lot as I love each Athie’s and Kramer’s commitments right here, my subject with “By Design” comes all the way down to momentum. It’s a chunk that feels prefer it’s pitched in the identical register from the start till very close to the top, branching off for scenes that might stand alone as efficient brief movies however don’t assist construct the tempo of this one. For instance, there’s an exceptional one with Athie at a cocktail party the place he brings his particular chair that might have been a standalone brief; whereas one other one on a balcony with Clifton Collins Jr. felt like it could by no means finish. Scenes battle to tie collectively and the entire piece form of drifted away for me. It would sound tacky to say that I grew stressed in my theater chair, however it could be the reality.
