The 60th Chicago International Film Festival kicks off on Wednesday, October 16 with a gala screening of the new film adaptation of The Piano Lesson, based on August Wilson's play. Over the course of the next ten days, keep up with the latest on Third Coast Reviews recommendations and updates from the film fest front lines with chief film critic Steve Prokopy, editor and critic Lisa Trifone, critic Alejandro Riera and special guest contributions throughout.
Start here, with Steve's interview with Festival Artistic Director Mimi Plauché, and follow our Chicago International Film Festival tag for all the latest!
The Piano Lesson
There is something strange, perhaps even supernatural, about this Black family’s prized piano, now in the possession of Berniece (Danielle Deadwyler), who lives in 1930s Pittsburgh. When her brother, Boy Willie (John David Washington), arrives at her doorstep unexpectedly from his home in Mississippi with hopes of selling the heirloom, he sparks off a war between the siblings that can only be settled by the introduction of ghosts, stories of generational trauma, and a bit of religion.
These are the building blocks of director/co-writer Malcolm Washington’s debut feature film, The Piano Lesson, an adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning play by August Wilson that also includes supporting performances by Samuel L. Jackson (as the siblings’ uncle, who lives with Berniece), Ray Fisher, Michael Potts, Erykah Badu, and Corey Hawkins as a preacher, who until recently was a bit of a sinner until he found God. Nearly every character in the story is holding something back and not being entirely honest about key family subjects, and as the film moves forward, all of these secrets start to come to light while ghosts from the past (literal and otherwise) weigh heavy on those who feel guilty about whatever they’re hiding.
Like many Wilson stories, the characters can’t move forward until they take a hard look back at their legacy, and The Piano Lesson also takes a hard look at identity, truth and what it takes to survive the worst things we do to even blood relations. Director Washington (like John David, the son of actor Denzel Washington, who produced this film) has a true gift for exploring the twisted emotional complexity of family, history, and what comes next once we untangle the things that keep us from moving forward. The performances are superior across the board, with Deadwyler and Washington truly leaning into the tightly wound centers of their characters. (Steve Prokopy)
The film screens Wednesday, Oct. 16 at 6:30pm at Music Box Theatre, and Thursday, Oct. 17 at 2:00pm at AMC NEWCITY 14. At the Opening Night screening, director and co-writer Malcolm Washington will receive the Festival’s Breakthrough Award for his visceral and compelling feature directorial debut, and John David Washington will receive the Spotlight Award in recognition of the power he brings to his performance as Boy Willie.
The film then opens for a limited theatrical run on November 8, followed by its November 22 premiere on Netflix.
Unstoppable
Probably best known for voicing a variation of Miles Morales in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse and his portrayal of 16-year-old Kevin in Moonlight, actor Jharrel Jerome takes on his toughest role to date, that of real-life champion high school and college wrestler Anthony Robles in Unstoppable, from director William Goldenberg, a veteran editor (Zero Dark Thirty, Air) making his directing debut. What makes Robles’ story so remarkable is that he managed to achieve his feats with only one leg, making him the object of pity and a great deal of underestimation by those he was wrestling (and pretty much everyone else) except his coaches (Michael Peña as high school trainer Bobby Williams, and Don Cheadle as Arizona State University coach Shawn Charles) and his mother Judy (Jennifer Lopez).
Anthony knows that his wrestling career would be over after college, so winning the NCAA championship is all he cares about, but it certainly wasn't all he had to deal with growing up. In addition to his physical restrictions, he also had to contend with an unsupportive stepfather (Bobby Cannavale), who would frequently demean him and take out his life of failures on Judy through domestic violence that Anthony had to watch and deal with throughout his life. Because Lopez plays his mother, the filmmaker centers on her story probably more than he should in order to keep her in front of the camera a bit longer, taking away from the wrestling story.
Even still, Unstoppable is a better-than-average sports drama because it takes the time to examine Anthony’s physical and mental conditioning as he busts his ass every day to train as much as humanly possible while also maintaining a night job on a luxury plane cleaning crew (Mykelti Williamson plays his advice-wielding boss). There aren’t many surprises here, but that isn’t the point of most sports films—it’s about the journey—and Jerome never makes us doubt for a second what young Robles would do to achieve his goals. Some of the movie relies on familiar moments, but on the whole it’s a rousing, inspirational achievement. (Steve Prokopy)
The film screens Thursday, Oct. 17 at 6:30pm at Music Box Theatre, and Friday, Oct. 18 at 2pm at AMC NEWCITY 14. Actor Jharrel Jerome and producer/film subject Anthony Robles are scheduled to attend.
Vulcanizadora
From writer/director Joel Potrykus (Buzzard, The Alchemist Cookbook), Vulcanizadora concerns the lives of two friends (Josh Burge’s Marty and the filmmaker taking on the role of Derek) as they traipse recklessly through the Michigan forrest squabbling and getting on each others’ nerves. Eventually, the real reason is revealed for why they are making their way to their final lakeside destination with no real concern for possessions or accidentally hurting themselves with seemingly dangerous pranks. The film takes its characters from annoying, middle-aged slackers to something far more bleak and ominous, with Marty making it clear he has no plans on returning from this journey to the real world.
Vulcanizadora revels a complexity that some may find jarring, and for me, it came too late in the film’s relatively short running time to save the movie from working. Eventually, one of the pair does go back to civilization and feels so guilty about what transpires on the beach that he makes inquiries to see if anyone noticed that his friend has disappeared. Shot on 16mm, the movie feels deeply intimate as we attempt to make sense of the characters’ motivations, actions, and the consequences of both. Admittedly, the less you know about Vulcanizadora going into it the better, but my patience was worn thin while waiting for the point of the film to reveal itself. (Steve Prokopy)
The film screens Wednesday, Oct. 16 at 10:00pm at Music Box Theatre, and Saturday, Oct 19 at 2:30pm at AMC NEWCITY 14. Director Joel Potrykus and co-producer Kevin Clancy are scheduled to attend.
Rita
"Write (and direct) what you know," and "never work with children," are the two most often quoted sayings when it comes to filmmaking. In her confident and moving directorial debut Rita, actress Paz Vega not only finds inspiration in her childhood memories but also shows the naysayers that you can, after all, work with children.
The year is 1984: the Spanish government is celebrating the third anniversary of a law making divorces legal and Spain has a strong chance of the national team making the European Championship finals. In a small corner of a working-class neighborhood in Vega’s native Seville, seven-year-old Rita and her younger brother Lolo witness the continuous verbal and physical abuse (most of the latter kept off-camera) their father inflicts on their mother (Vega). But Rita is not your archetypal kitchen sink drama; instead, Vega, in telling the story from Rita’s point of view, shows how such violence is a sad part of life for her and her neighbors. There is still room to have fun while out shopping with Mom or going out to the local pool with Dad, even when his toxic behavior spoils the moment.
Vega strikes gold with newcomers Sofía Allepuz (Rita) and Alejandro Escamilla (Lolo). Their chemistry is so natural, their performances so effortless, you believe these two are actual siblings. But it is Allepuz’s curious, sweet, observant stare that stays with you, especially in the final minutes of the film.
Rita is a period film that doesn’t feel like one. The radio and TV broadcasts, the cars, the fabrics in the store, the furniture, every object feels of the moment, as if they had been snatched from Vega’s memory and plopped right there on the screen. It complements her no-frills, straightforward approach to the story, one that doesn’t need any embellishments to deliver its emotional wallops. (Alejandro Riera)
Receiving its North American Premiere in the New Director’s Competition, Rita will screen on Thursday, October 17 at 5:45 p.m. and Friday, October 18 at 3 p.m. at the AMC New City. Director and actress Paz Vega will be present at the October 17 screening.
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