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Sundance, Sundance Film Festival, Sundance Film Festival 2022

Sundance Film Capsule – Am I OK? Touching and Heartfelt

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Posted by Larry Gleeson


The 2022 Sundance Film Festival premiere, Am I OK?,  marked the directorial debut of married creatives Tig Notaro and Stephanie Allynn. The film features Dakota Johnson and Sonoya Mizuno as Lucy and Jane, two best friends who are forced to deal with significant change when Jane agrees to accept a major career move necessitating relocation and Lucy confesses her deepest secret: that she loves women and has for a long time.

The viewer is quickly taken into the relationship fold with an intimate and personalized invitation with a mesmerizing bedroom scene between the film’s two lead actors, Johnson and Mizuno. Sharp editing from Kayla Emter and Glen Scantlebury and well-executed cinematography from Cristina Dunlapan allow the scene to unfold in telling ways.

Dakota Johnson, left, and Sonoya Mizuno, explore relationships and friendships in Tig Notaro and Stephanie Allyne’s Am I OK? at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival. (Photo courtesy of Sundance Institute)

Notaro and Allynne present the friendship in a microcosm revolving around work, friendship, relationships, and sexuality. As Lucy comes to the realization her sexual orientation is not what she thought, she has a falling out with Jane. Jane experiences a surprise in her romantic relationship when she accepts a promotion to open a London office and her partner decides he is not interested in supporting the move. Meanwhile, Lucy finds her identity.

In its most basic essence Am I OK?  explores sexuality and relationship mores between the two 30ish women. Jane, portrayed by Mizuno, is a firmly rooted woman finding success in her career and in her love life. On the other hand, Lucy, portrayed by Johnson, is struggling with her career and in the romance sphere.

Am I OK? is a beautiful story with exquisite character arcs. Johnson and Mizuno turn in highly compelling performances in a well-executed and strongly penned narrative. In addition, the filmmakers add comedic relief with several instances in magnifying character idiosyncrasies.

Warner Bros. and HBO Max have purchased the film.  Expect an HBO MAx premiere in the near future. Until then…..I’ll see you at the movies!

Stay tuned for The Watcher!

Maika Monroe appears in Watcher by Chloe Okuno, an official selection of the U.S. Dramatic Competition at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute.

#Sundance, Feature Film, Sundance, Sundance Film Festival 2022

Am I OK?

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Posted by Larry Gleeson

Wrapping up Day 6 with the Kim Yutani (Festival Programming Director) introduced film, Am I OK? from Tig Notaro and Stephanie Allynne, I was quickly taken into the relationship fold with an intimated and personalized invitation with a mesmerizing bedroom scene between the film’s two lead actors, Dakota Johnson and Sonoya Mizuno.

Dakota Johnson, left, and Sonoya Mizuno, explore relationships and friendships in Tig Notaro and Stephanie Allynne’s Am I OK? at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival. (Photo courtesy of Sundance Institute)

The editing from Kayla Emter and Glen Scantlebury and the cinematography from Cristina Dunlap brought to fruition the promise Notaro and Allyne hinted at during Yutani’s intro. The film explores sexuality and relationship mores between two 30ish women who are best friends, Jane, portrayed by Mizuno, is a firmly rooted woman finding success in her career and in her love life. On the other hand, Lucy, portrayed by Johnson, is struggling with her career and in the romance sphere.

Notaro and Allynne present the friendship in a microcosm revolving around work, friendship, relationships, and sexuality. As Lucy comes to the realization her sexual orientation is not what she thought, she has a falling out with Jane. Jane experiences a surprise in her romantic relationship when she accepts a promotion to open a London office and her partner decides he is not interested in supporting the move. Meanwhile, Lucy finds her identity.

Am I OK? is a beautiful story with exquisite character arcs. Johnson and Mizuno turn in highly compelling performances in a well-executed and strongly penned narrative. In addition, the filmmakers add comedic relief with several instances in magnifying character idiosyncrasies. Four stars.

Meet the filmmakers below. You’ll be glad you did. Until next time, I’ll see you at the movies!

 

#Sundance, Documentary, Feature Film, Sundance, Sundance Film Festival, Sundance Film Festival 2022

Descendant Rocks the Boat at Sundance

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Posted by Larry Gleeson

Another full day at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival with second screenings of Cooper Raif’s Cha Cha Real Smooth, a far-reaching, exquisitely cinematic effort, and Descendant, a documentary from Margaret Brown delving into the Clotilda, a renegade slave ship from 1859 that ensnared 150 Africans and brought them up into the Mobile River then was burned to hide the illegal run. Efforts were made to keep any and all references to the voyage hidden. The descendants from the Clotilda settled into an area known as Africatown and managed to keep their story alive primarily via the oral tradition.

Brown also reveals the enduring power imbalance that persists between the descendants of Timothy Meaher, the man who chartered the illegal expedition, and the descendants of those who were enslaved aboard it.

 

Cooper Raif, left, and Dakota star in Cha Cha Real Smooth premiering at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival. (Photo courtesy of Sundance Institute)

 

Cha Cha Real Smooth, like its central character, Andrew, portrayed by Raif, struggles to find its footing. Nevertheless, it is a sweetly sentimental story with a strong production design with a bountiful color pallette. Raif writes, directs, and stars with significant support from seasoned pros Dakota Johnson, Leslie Mann, and Brad Garrett. Raif is a remarkable talent comparable to the young Canadian filmmaker extraordinaire, Xavier Dolan. Of note, this is Dakota Johnson’s third film of the year (Lost Daughter premiered at the 2021 Telluride Film Festival) and her second Sundance film, following the highly compelling and well-executed story, Am I OK? from Tig Notaro and Stephanie Allyne. Stay tuned for more on Am I OK?

So many films, so little time…

Until next time, I’ll see you at the movies!

 

Larry Gleeson/HollywoodGlee at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival, Park City, Utah.

 

#Sundance, Sundance, Sundance Film Festival, Sundance Film Festival 2022

Sundance 2022 Mid-Festival Report Beyond Film

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Posted by Larry Gleeson

While there are still a few more days of the 2022 Sundance Film Festival left to watch movies, there’s also plenty of time left to check out all of the Beyond Film programmings they’ve been rolling out daily on the online Festival Platform.

Beyond Film includes Sundance-produced talks and events as well as artist meet-ups and a daily talk show with Fest Director Tabitha Jackson–there’s something for everyone and all of it is free at Festival.Sundance.org, without needing any kind of credential or ticket to accessing! The full list of programming is available here.

 

Dakota Johnson in the Q & A for Am I OK? at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival. (Photo courtesy of Sundance Institute)

 

There are big names (including actors and directors from the 2022 Sundance films this year, such as Dakota Johnson, Keke Palmer, Eva Longoria Bastòn, Amy Poehler, Emma Thompson and Karen Gillan) and big topics (such as climate change, robotics and censorship)

This is an excellent opportunity to check in and check out what’s going on behind the scenes and to get that little something extra.

 

 

Check it out!