The Paramount Theater in Austin
Michael Loccisano/Getty Images for SXSW
The SXSW Film & TV Festival has returned to Austin, and Deadline’s reviewers are watching all the key films. Here is a compilation of our reviews from the fest, which last year was the launchpad for newly-minted Oscar winner Everything Everywhere All at Once. The Daniels’ wild sci-fi action comedy is the first pic to debut at SXSW and go on to win Best Picture at the Academy Awards.
Check back often as we add more reviews from the event.
Bottoms
(L-R) Rachel Sennott as PJ and Ayo Edebiri as Josie in ‘Bottoms’
Courtesy of ORION Pictures Inc.
Section: HeadlinersDirector: Emma SeligmanScreenwriters: Emma Seligman, Rachel SennottCast: Rachel Sennott, Ayo Edebiri, Ruby Cruz, Havana Rose Liu, Kaia Gerber, Nicholas Galitzine, Miles Fowler, Marshawn Lynch, Dagmara Dominiczyk, Punkie JohnsonDeadline’s takeaway: Bottoms is fun, but with some slight tweaks this could have an epic exploration of the gray areas of queerness and what it means to stand in the center of that as an adolescent. It’s definitely an ambitious second outing for a director who still has room to grow.
Dungeons And Dragons: Honor Among Thieves
Chris Pine and Michelle Rodriguez in ‘Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves’
Paramount
Section: HeadlinersDirectors: Jonathan Goldstein, John Francis DaleyScreenwriters: Jonathan Goldstein & John Francis Daley and Michael GilioCast: Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, Hugh Grant, Regé-Jean Page, Justice Smith, Sophia Lillis, Chloe Coleman, Daisy HeadDeadline’s takeaway:With renewed interest in the fantasy genre, it’s good to see something outside LOTR and Game of Thrones getting it right and having a good time. Dungeons and Dragon is also one of the better adaptations due to all of its elements coming together: a strong cast, a decent story, dynamic direction and pleasing special effects.
Flamin’ Hot
Section: HeadlinersDirector: Eva LongoriaScreenwriters: Lewis Colick and Linda Yvette ChavezCast: Jesse Garcia, Annie Gonzalez, Emilio Rivera, Dennis Haysbert, Tony Shalhoub, Matt Walsh, Bobby Soto, Pepe SernaDeadline’s takeaway: The film’s lighthearted narration by the main character plays with the idea that not everything presented here is a documentary. That is a smart move, because this crowd-pleasing and highly entertaining movie should not be penalized for possibly playing with some of the facts.
Frybread Face And Me
(L-R) Kier Tallman and Charley Hogan
SXSW
Section: Narrative SpotlightDirector-screenwriter: Billy LutherCast: Kier Tallman, Charley Hogan, Martin SensmeierDeadline’s takeaway: Using his authentic experience as a rough map rather than a beat sheet, Billy Luther hits on something very special here, exploring universal themes of childhood and family in ways that transcend the specificity of its setting.
Hypnotic
Section: Narrative SpotlightDirector: Robert RodriguezScreenwriters: Robert Rodriguez & Max BorensteinCast: Ben Affleck, Alice Braga, JD Pardo, Hala Finley, Dayo Okeniyi, Jeff Fahey, Jackie Earle Haley, William FichtnerDeadline’s takeaway: Robert Rodriguez revealed at the premiere screening that his film is a work in progress — and it still needs work in order to progress. It’s never boring and has a solid concept that is solid enough to get behind, but it’s all over the place and in desperate need of heavy tweaking.
If You Were The Last
Anthony Mackie and Zoë Chao in ‘If You Were the Last’
SXSW
Section: Narrative SpotlightDirector: Kristian MercadoScreenwriter: Angela BourassaCast: Anthony Mackie, Zoë Chao, Natalie MoralesDeadline’s takeaway: The curious thing is that Kristian Mercado’s film seems to pass quicker when it’s languishing in the doldrums of the cosmos than it does when it arrives in the real world: why such a simple story takes so long to get to just 92 minutes is one of the many mysteries of the universe.
John Wick: Chapter 4
Keanu Reeves in ‘John Wick: Chapter 4’
Lionsgate
Section: Special EventDirector: Chad StahelskiScreenwriters: Shay Hatten, Michael FinchCast: Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Ian McShane, Lance Reddick, Donnie Yen, Bill Skarsgard, Hiroyuki Sanada, Shamier Anderson, Rina Sawayama, Scott Adkins, Clancy BrownDeadline’s takeaway: The John Wicks are getting longer and a little more bloated since the original. And though John Wick: Chapter 4 has grown by nearly 40 minutes over the last one, for the most part it never slows down, and remains a feast for fans of Keanu Reeves’ command of the martial arts/gun fu/car fu genre.
Late Bloomers
(L-R) Margaret Sophie Stein and Karen Gillan in ‘Late Bloomers’
We’re Doin’ Great / Park Pictures
Section: Narrative Feature CompetitionDirector: Lisa SteenScreenwriter: Anna GreenfieldCast: Karen Gillan, Margaret Sophie Stein, Jermaine FowlerDeadline’s takeaway: Lisa Steen’s debut feature is an intimate, defiantly female-fronted indie, showcasing an engaging and refreshingly vanity-free performance from Karen Gillan, a talented Scottish actress whose career to date is still something of a work in progress.
Late Night With The Devil
‘Late Night With the Devil’
Image Nation Abu Dhabi
Section: MidnightersDirector-screenwriters: Colin and Cameron CairnesCast: David Dastmalchian, Georgina Haig, Faysal BazziDeadline’s takeaway: That Late Night With the Devil is one for the myriad genre festivals that abound internationally is a no-brainer, but the Cairnes brothers deserve a bit more consideration than that for their film’s wry engagement with U.S. history and pop culture.
National Anthem
Charlie Plummer in ‘National Anthem’
LD Entertainment
Section: Narrative SpotlightDirector: Luke GilfordScreenwriters: David Largman Murray, Kevin Best, Luke GilfordCast: Charlie Plummer, Rene Rosado, Eve LindleyDeadline’s takeaway: Perhaps more by coincidence than design, National Anthem arrives at a time when everything it celebrates is under attack, and such a low-key affirmation of personal growth and freedom might actually be what we really need right now.
Problemista
Julio Torres and Tilda Swinton in ‘Problemista’
A24
Section: HeadlinersDirector-screenwriter: Julio TorresCast: Julio Torres, Tilda Swinton, RZA, Isabella Rossellini, Larry Owens, Catalina Saavedra, Greta LeDeadline’s takeaway: Problemista, a comedic, surrealist fantasy that serves as a critique of capitalism, is about authenticity and learning to be confident enough to take up space. Especially as a person of color who often feel invisible, or feel they must shrink themselves in order to fit in.
Scrambled
‘Scrambled’
Lionsgate
Section: Narrative Feature CompetitionDirector-screenwriter: Leah McKendrickCast: Leah McKendrick, Ego Nwodim, Andrew SantinoDeadline’s takeaway: It’s a good set-up for a comedy, with its girl-power sentiments about single-parenting and putting one’s emotional affairs in order. But the setup is really all there is, with no distinctive game plan other than to see Leah McKendrick’s Nellie get to the finish line with her treatment.
Self Reliance
‘Self Reliance’
MRC Film
Section: Narrative SpotlightDirector-screenwriter: Jake JohnsonCast: Jake Johnson, Anna Kendrick, Andy Samberg, Natalie Morales, Christopher Lloyd, Wayne Brady, GaTa, Emily Hampshire, Mary Holland, Boban MarjanovićDeadline’s takeaway: Self-Reliance is never dull, but the story isn’t as well structured; that third act is an erratic mess. The other issue is at the conclusion, Tommy doesn’t undergo a complete 180-degree change, so he’s still a douche by the end.
You Sing Loud, I Sing Louder
Ewan and Clara McGregor in ‘You Sing Loud, I Sing Louder’
Sobini Films/Killer Films.
Section: Narrative SpotlightDirector: Emma WestenbergScreenwriter: Ruby CasterCast: Clara McGregor, Ewan McGregor, Vera BulderDeadline’s takeaway: In terms of subject matter, it’s gritty, dealing with issues of addiction and self-harm, but the treatment is surprisingly light and almost spectral. Like Eliza Hittman’s 2020 Sundance hit Never Rarely Sometimes Always, this is a road movie that passes like a fever dream.
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