Steven Soderbergh’s signature style is one of cool detachment to his characters. His films tackle people in crisis, but the tone is always one of an ersatz cinema verité witness to what is happening to them. In PRESENCE, he has channeled that aesthetic into a ghost story told from the spirit’s point of view. Literally.… Read More »
CALL JANE — Phyllis Nagy Interview
Click here to listen to the interview. Breaking the law to do the right thing is a dilemma rife with dramatic possibilities, and that is the story of CALL JANE, a fictionalized story about real events. The Janes, as they were called, started as a collective that arranged safe abortions for women when the procedure… Read More »
Cary Fukunaga and Abraham Attah Take On BEASTS OF NO NATION
I loved the rapport between writer/director Cary Fukunaga and his discovery, Abraham Attah. If there was ever a more impressive feature film debut than Attah’s in BEASTS OF NO NATION, I can’t remember it. This searing, heartbreaking adaptation of Uzodinma Iweala’s novel of the same name casts Attah as Agu, a normal, happy kid in… Read More »