Daniel Carlson
January is usually a happy time for the movie community: the start of a new year means it’s time for the next installment of the Sundance Film Festival, which takes place each winter in Park City, Utah, and showcases features and documentaries from upcoming and established voices. The past two years, though, have been anything but festive. Covid-19 meant that Sundance went online-only in 2021, and although the plan was for the festival to return to its regular edition in 2022, the rise of the Omicron variant led to a last-minute change that once again saw the festival going virtual.
An unexpected side effect of the at-home version is that one of the biggest ways movies build reputation at places like Sundance—through word-of-mouth buzz around town—is now missing from the experience, and as a result, there’s often not more to go by than the movie’s official synopsis. And, well, look: some of those synopses sound terrible. On one hand, yes, a movie is never just a summary of what happens between the opening and closing credits, so it’s hard to capture the essence of the experience in a hundred or so words. On the other, though, sometimes you read a blurb for an indie, festival-based movie and think, “This cannot be real.” It almost sounds like a parody of insular festival titles that would surface as a joke on a sitcom (because after all, who’s to say what happens on that young girl’s strange, erotic journey from Milan to Minsk.)
If you think that’s an exaggeration, well, you’re in luck: you can test your knowledge with this handy quiz. For each question, you’ll get two blurbs, one for a fake movie and one for an actual, real movie playing at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. Think you can guess which is which? Let’s get indie!
FAKE OR SUNDANCE?
QUESTION 1
Resurrection
Margaret (Rebecca Hall) leads a successful and orderly life, perfectly balancing the demands of her busy career and single parenthood to her fiercely independent daughter Abbie. But that careful balance is upended when she glimpses a man she instantly recognizes, an unwelcome shadow from her past. A short time later, she encounters him again. Before long, Margaret starts seeing David (Tim Roth) everywhere—and their meetings appear to be far from an unlucky coincidence. Battling her rising fear, Margaret must confront the monster she’s evaded for two decades who has come to conclude their unfinished business.
Revelation
Maggie (Rebecca Hall) leads a balanced life, splitting her time between caring for her three young sons while also teaching at their elementary school. But that balance is upended when an old connection comes back into her life: the boys’ father, David (Woody Harrelson), a career criminal who disappeared five years earlier and was presumed dead. Insinuating himself back into their lives, David tells Maggie that he hid the contents of his last major theft inside the boys’ school, and Maggie soon finds herself driven to greater lengths to help David if she wants to keep her family safe and conclude his unfinished business.
QUESTION 2
Triple
Recently graduated from college, Sarah is unsure of what to do with her life, so she’s stuck back at home working odd jobs to make ends meet. One day, she comes across a job ad that promises to help her earn three times her income: when she responds in person, she finds out that the company is an amateur cloning facility. Taking the leap and creating not one but two copies of herself, Sarah thinks she can have it all, but things become significantly more challenging when the clones start to have desires of their own and the original is no longer wanted.
Dual
Recently diagnosed with a rare and incurable disease, Sarah is unsure how to process the news. To help ease her friends’ and family’s impending loss, she is encouraged to participate in a simple futuristic cloning procedure called “Replacement,” after which Sarah’s last days will be spent teaching the clone how to live on as Sarah once she’s gone. But while it takes only an hour for a clone to be made, things become significantly more challenging when that double is no longer wanted.
QUESTION 3
I Am Done Fixing the World
From his bedroom home studio, high school student Ziggy (Finn Wolfhard) makes original short films for TikTok. This concept mystifies his formal and uptight mother, Evelyn (Julianne Moore), who runs a local political action group for concerned mothers who are pushing back against what they see as cultural degradation and liberalism in schools. While Ziggy finds himself drawn into the activist world through his attraction to classmate Lila, Evelyn meets a local father (Henry Rollins) who shows her that there’s more than one worldview.
When You Finish Saving the World
From his bedroom home studio, high school student Ziggy (Finn Wolfhard) performs original folk-rock songs for an adoring online fan base. This concept mystifies his formal and uptight mother, Evelyn (Julianne Moore), who runs a shelter for survivors of domestic abuse. While Ziggy is busy trying to impress his socially engaged classmate Lila by making his music less bubblegum and more political, Evelyn meets Angie and her teen son, Kyle, when they seek refuge at her facility. She observes a bond between the two that she’s missing with her own son, and decides to take Kyle under her wing against her better instincts.
QUESTION 4
Cha Cha Real Smooth
Fresh out of college—but now what? Higher education failed to provide 22-year-old Andrew (Cooper Raiff) with a clear life path going forward, so he’s stuck back at home with his family in New Jersey. But if college did teach him one thing, it’s drinking and partying—skills that make him the perfect candidate for a job party-starting at the bar and bat mitzvahs of his younger brother’s classmates. When Andrew befriends a local mom, Domino (Dakota Johnson), and her daughter, Lola, he finally discovers a future he wants, even if it might not be his own.
Sure Sure Whatever
Fresh out of grad school—but now what? Higher education failed to provide 24-year-old Drew (Noah Centineo) with a clear life path going forward, but it did teach him one thing: sex. That makes him the perfect candidate for a liaison with the divorced mother of a classmate, and when she shares what happened with a friend, Drew finds himself increasingly in demand as a “paid companion” for his friends’ mothers. When feelings develop between Drew and one of the women, though, he has to grow up quicker than he’d planned and discover the future he wants, even if it might not be his own.
QUESTION 5
Watcher
Julia joins her husband when he relocates to his family’s native Romania for a new job. Having recently abandoned her acting career, she finds herself frequently alone and unoccupied. One night, people-watching from her picture window, she spots a vague figure in an adjacent building, who seems to be looking back at her. Soon after, while alone at a local movie theater, Julia’s sense of being watched intensifies, and she becomes certain she’s being followed—could it be the same unknown neighbor? Meanwhile, a serial killer known as The Spider stalks the city.
The Watched
Rachel joins her husband when he relocates to his family’s native Alberta for a new job. Unfamiliar with her new surroundings and uncomfortable making new friends, she finds herself frequently alone and unoccupied. Until, that is, she starts people-watching in the park. Returning daily to check in on their lives, she finds herself increasingly drawn to an attractive couple walking their dog. She starts to see them in other places around the city, though, and at odd times—are they following her? Meanwhile, a serial killer known as The Rat stalks the city.
ANSWER KEY (which ones are real)
Question 1: Resurrection
Question 2: Dual
Question 3: When You Finish Saving the World
Question 4: Cha Cha Real Smooth
Question 5: Watcher
SCORING
1-2 correct: See what I mean?! Anyway, let me know when you’re done watching Les Cousins Dangereux.
3-4 correct: You’ve got a good head on your shoulders.
5 correct: You star in at least one of these movies.
