By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Nia DaCosta
Starring: James Badge Dale | Lance Reddick | Lily James | Luke Kirby | Tessa Thompson
Country: united_states
Year: 2019
Running time: 105
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6418918/reference
Ivy says: “This film is a revelation! A woman-directed, modern, feminist western set in North Dakota starring Tessa Thompson and Lily James. I really don’t want to tell you more. It is one of my favorite films of the year and I will be nominating it ALL OVER THE PLACE.”
Michael says: “Film #25 for the year, woo-hoo! Picked up this one on a recommendation from Ivy. This accomplished, first feature by Nia DaCosta takes a look at a pair of sisters living in the backwoods of North Dakota. Their mother has just died, and their house is in foreclosure. Ollie, the older sister who makes things happen, is nearing the end of her probation for running drugs across the Canadian border. She committed to leaving that behind her, but no one else around her seems to get that message. Younger sister Deb has one son, and finds she’s got another on the way, both from her deadbeat boyfriend, so who’s left to help her out? You guessed it, it’s Ollie.
“DaCosta, who also wrote the script, takes an unsentimental view of what it’s like to be poor and without much by way of opportunity. Ivy called this a ‘modern, feminist western’ and I think she got that down. The cinematography, the script, the direction, and the acting by Tessa Thompson and Lily James, as the two leads, plus strong support from James Badge Dale as Deb’s baby daddy, and Luke Kirby as the local bigwig drug dealer, and you’ve got plenty to nominate. It’s great to see Thompson and James, both known for much bigger projects (THOR & AVENGERS for Thompson; DOWNTON ABBY for James) tackling some great acting roles. 4 cats”
Julie says: “The best thing about this movie is the music and use of music. It’s incredible music and incredibly integrated into the film. We need to add the best use of music category back for this movie alone!”The two leads are very good. The story is okay. 4 cats“