Indiefest: Topside (2020) Deep in the underbelly of New York City, a five-year-old girl (Zhaila Farmer) and her mother (Celine Held) live among a group that has claimed the abandoned subway tunnels as their home until authorities discover them. Now, mother and daughter must go on the streets of NYC, a world the young girl knows nothing about. One of the oldest subjects in the history of film is the story of a mother trying to decide if her child is better off without her. In the case of Topside, Nikki, a woman who has a drug problem and leaves her daughter alone for hours at a time to support her drug habit, must decide to keep battling the system and her homelessness to keep her daughter or let the system take her daughter because she can’t provide much more than her love for the daughter she calls Little. Celine Held gives a powerful and moving performance of Nikki, a troubled woman who loves her daughter but can’t cope without drugs to survive. The film is a gut punch from the start, as we see Little exploring the lonely and dangerous world of the abandoned tunnels on her own as she waits for her mother to return. We are torn, as is Nikki, because we see how much Nikki cares for and loves Little, but we know, like Nikki, that it isn’t enough. When the two are forced to go ‘topside’ into the real world, the film comes to a crashing, emotional end that just might wreck you, much like it does with Little and Nikki. My Rating: I Would Pay to See it Again Topside Website Now playing in select theatres.
Indiefest: 7 Days (2021) Ravi (Karan Soni) and Rita (Geraldine Viswanathan) are two single people being set up by their mothers through a dating website. After a very uncomfortable pre-arranged date, they must shelter in place together after the COVID pandemic lockdown forces them to stay in Rita’s apartment. This is a funny, sweet film about two people who have very different outlooks on life and love. Ravi is best described as a mama’s boy who is desperate to fulfill his family's dream of him getting married and having a family. Rita is an independent woman who only goes along with the whole arranged marriage ordeal to keep her mother happy, while Rita carries on an affair with a married man. The film puts these two people together and lets them figure out that maybe, just maybe, they can find love in an unexpected place with someone who isn’t their perfect mate on a website. I loved the chemistry between Karan Soni and Geraldine Viswanathan, who worked together on the Daniel Radcliffe TV series Miracle Workers. The two play off each other with a light touch, making us believe that they could and should end up together in an unconventional love story for unconventional times. My Rating: Full Price 7 Days Website Now playing in select theatres.
Indiefest: You Are Not My Mother (2021) R In a North Dublin housing estate, Char’s mother, Angela (Carolyn Bracken), returns after mysteriously going missing, her personality radically changed. Despite her grandmother's objections (Ingrid Craigie), Char (Hazel Doupe) decides to uncover the truth of her mother’s disappearance and in turn, unearth the dark secrets of her family. Char is a young woman who is dealing with a lot. She is doing well academically but doesn’t have any friends and is constantly threatened by the school's bullies. She is shy and is very affected by the scar on her face, which she claims is a birthmark. She is being raised by her elderly grandmother, as her mother rarely comes out of her bedroom. Char’s life becomes complicated when her mother, after a disaster of a trip to take her daughter to school, almost ends in a car wreck disappears without a trace. When Char’s mother reappears without an explanation, Char notices that her mother’s personality has changed, so much so that Char can’t decide if it’s a good or a bad thing. Things began going badly in the house as Angela starts acting weird, and Char starts to feel that her mother may be dangerous. You Are Not My Mother is more of a suspense film than a horror film. Though Angela can be scary at times, it’s the psychological effects on Char that are most pressing in this film, as she realizes that the mother she once knew is no longer in the body of Angela. What we, along with Char, have to figure out is Angela’s change has been brought about by a mental breakdown, or is there something more sinister going on? My Rating: Full Price You Are Not My Mother Website Now playing in select theatres.
My View: Infinite Storm (2022) Pam Bales (Naomi Watts), an experienced climber, is forced to turn back on her climb of Mt. Washington due to a massive blizzard that is fast approaching. On her way down, she encounters a lone, stranded man and takes it upon herself to get the both of them off of the mountain before nightfall and certain death. Infinite Storm is a harrowing story of survival and how one person can give another person help both physically and spiritually. We meet Pam, and we can tell that she is a determined woman who has had something painful happen in her past. We are given clues to what but don’t know the details. Then, just when Pam is about to turn back due to the conditions on the mountain, she finds a man dressed like he was going out on a summer hike, on top of a snowy mountain, freezing to death. Pam puts her survival skills to work and makes it her job to get this man, who is out of his mind, down the mountain before it becomes dark. Watts gives us an emotional and physically draining performance of a woman who, despite her problems, is so driven that she will do anything to get this man back down to safety. Be sure to wear a sweater to the theatre, as you will feel the constant coldness of the mountain, even as you are warmed by the determination of Pam to get you off the damn mountain. My Rating: Full Price Infinite Storm Website Now playing in select theatres.
Forgotten Film: Prefontaine (1997) PG-13 Steve Prefontaine (Jared Leto) was a man who was determined to beat the odds, no matter what the cost. Prefontaine was a runner who was a superstar in the long-distance running for a very short time. Leto is captivating as Pre, a man who didn’t care who he beat or how he got there, just that he was in first at the finish line. As the film shows us, Pre was a man that wasn’t always likable, and that is what I enjoy about this film. Too often, films based on sports stars make heroes out of their subjects and don’t show us who they really were. Prefontaine gives us a tragic hero who wasn’t afraid to run on his terms and not conform to what people thought he should be. My Rating: Full Price Prefontaine Info
Weird Credits: From the credits of The Lost City: Cutter-Fitter
Coming Soon to a Screen Near You: Morbius (2022) PG-13 Biochemist Michael Morbius (Jared Leto) is trying to find a cure for a rare blood disease, one he has himself. In his attempt to find the cure, he inadvertently infects himself with a form of vampirism instead. This much-delayed film is finally being released, and we can see what all the fuss has been about. Recently Leto has given us The Joker and Paolo Gucci, so let's see what he can do with a vampire. Morbius Website
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