Opening This Week: Miss Americana, The Rhythm Section, Gretel & Hansel
BY SCOTTIE KNOLLIN
Traditionally, many of the films that screen at the Sundance Film Festival are looking for distributors. For Miss Americana, the new documentary about Taylor Swift from director Lana Wilson, the film premiered with Netflix already on board.
Now, direct from the slopes of Park City, the film highlights the end of January’s release calendar and sparks Netlfix’s first ‘prestige’ release of 2020.
The film follows the singer during a transformational period in her life, notably while she created her seventh album, Lover. Those who were able to catch the film in Utah shared mostly positive remarks about the film’s raw and emotional footage. Topics and events covered in the film include her past battle with an eating disorder, her sexual assault trial, and her mother’s cancer diagnosis.
Critics have also praised the film. Wesley Morris of The New York Times said it is “85 minutes of translucence,” while also stating the film is “self-critical, grown up and ready, perhaps, to deliver a message beyond the music.”
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Reed Morano first made her mark as a cinematographer on films like the Oscar-nominated Frozen River before becoming a celebrated director (she won many awards for her work on "“The Handmaid’s Tale” series).
Her latest directing effort is the film The Rhythm Section, starring Blake Lively as a grieving widow who sets out for revenge. Jude law and Sterling K. Brown also star.
Based on the book by the same name from author Mark Burnell, the rights to the film adaptation were acquired by Paramount Pictures in 2017. Filming began shortly after, but was halted after Lively as injured on set. Finally completed in 2018, the film was set to release in February 2019 but received multiple new release dates. Typically, that’s not a great sign.
Critics have not been too kind to the film, highlighting Lively’s performance as stellar, but calling out the film’s plot as predictable and bland. It’s expected to earn $10 million in its opening weekend.
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Turning tales from the Brothers Grimm into horror films isn’t new. It has been a while since one of those adaptations has received such a wide release as this weekend’s Gretel & Hansel. Directed by Oz Perkins (son of Anthony Perkins and the director of The Blackcoat’s Daughter), the film stars Sophia Lillis and Sam Leakey as the titular characters.
Filmed in Ireland in 2018, Gretel & Hansel is intended to be a very faithful adaptation to the original story, with the horror elements lifted directly from the original story. However, in this version, Gretel earns much of the film’s focus.
United Artists didn’t screen the film widely before its release, which is sometimes questionable, but those who have seen it have given it mostly mixed-to-average reviews. If the film does well, we can expect to see other sinister fairy tale adaptations for years to come.
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Not interested in the new crop of films releasing this weekend? You’re in luck! Many of the Oscar-nominated films have re-released to cinemas across North Dakota, including Parasite, Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood, and Ford v Ferrari. Plus, Little Women and 1917 are still playing at most theaters.
Marcus Theatres is hosting a Best Picture Festival February 1st and 8th to showcase almost each Best Picture nominated film (Netflix didn’t give The Irishman or Marriage Story to any of the nation’s Best Picture series), plus the Live-Action Short Films and Animated Short Film. Click here to purchase tickets and see showtimes.
