I've been very fortunate in the 17 years I've been a part of Ain't It Cool News to be a part of some pretty great events. But never in my time as a critic or resident of Chicago have I had more pride in playing a small role in pulling together something as I have working on the annual Chicago Critics Film Festival, a weeklong event taking place at Chicago’s Music Box Theatre, this year from May 1-7.
Pulled together by my hard-working fellow members of the Chicago Film Critics Association, the CCFF collects 22 features and three short film programs comprised primarily of recent film festival favorites and as-yet undistributed works, all receiving their Chicago premieres at the event. The important thing to understand is two-fold: one, as far as we can tell, this is the first time a film critics group has ever hosted and produced an event like this; second, each of these films was hand selected by a member of the CFCA because they saw it at a festival in the last year (such as Toronto, Cannes, Sundance, SXSW, etc.) and went after it. There was no submitting films for this event (and therefore no politics were involved in the selection process); either someone loved the film, or it wasn't considered.
As this event was being conceived, we all agreed that pointing our readers to great movies was our core job, but almost as important is spotlighting work that might not have the benefit of big-studio marketing dollars. So the idea being the CCFF was to bring such films to our city. Some of these works have release dates; some do not, so this may be your only chance to see these films on the big screen.
And not only do we have more features than ever before, but we have more guests, including Cobie Smulders, Adam Pally, James Ponsoldt, Joe Swanberg, Kris Swanberg, Bobcat Goldthwait, Barry Crimmins, Douglas Tirol, and many more. The full schedule and all additional information about the Chicago Critics Film Festival can be found at the Official Website. Here’s the final line-up (all guests are indicated in the film descriptions):
FRIDAY, MAY 1 – OPENING NIGHT
7pm: DIGGING FOR FIRE Directed by Joe Swanberg (In Person). Starring: Jake Johnson, Rosemarie DeWitt, Orlando Bloom, Brie Larson, Sam Rockwell, and Anna Kendrick A young married couple (Jake Johnson and Rosemarie DeWitt) is still trying to adjust to life as parents three years after the birth of their son. While house-sitting for some friends, she drops the kid off with her mother before a night on the town while he invites a bunch of friends over, leading both into a night of temptations that include drinking, pot, another woman, and something very strange in the yard.
9:30pm: RAIDERS! Directed by Jeremy Coon and Tim Skousen. In 1982, three 11-year-olds in Mississippi set out to remake their favorite film, RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK. After seven turbulent years that tested the limits of their friendship and nearly burned down their mother’s house, they had completed every scene except one: the explosive airplane fight. Thirty years later, they attempt to finally complete their childhood dream by building a replica of the 75-foot flying wing from RAIDERS in a mud pit in the backwoods of Mississippi and then blow it up.
11:59pm: RESTORATION, and the Midnight Insanity Shorts
SATURDAY, MAY 2
12pm: KAHLIL GIBRAN’S THE PROPHET Starring: Quvenzhane Wallis, Liam Neeson, Salma Hayek, Alfred Molina, and John Krasinski (voices). Director Roger Allers (THE LION KING) assembled an array of internationally acclaimed animators to realize episodes from the classic text by renowned Lebanese poet Kahlil Gibran, which are woven into the tale of a mischievous young girl (voiced by Beasts of the Southern Wild’s Quvenzhané Wallis) who attempts to free an imprisoned poet (Liam Neeson). As their story unfolds, several of Gibran’s most cherished essays—on love, work, children, marriage, and freedom—are brought to life in vibrant vignettes directed by some of the world’s foremost animators, among them Tomm Moore (THE SECRET OF KILLS), Bill Plympton (IDIOTS AND ANGELS), and Paul and Gaëtan Brizzi (sequence directors on Disney’s THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME).
2pm: THE NEW GIRLFRIEND Directed by François Ozon. Starring: Romain Duris Working from a story by Ruth Rendell, acclaimed French filmmaker Francois Ozon (SWIMMING POOL, 8 WOMEN, YOUNG & BEAUTIFUL) offers up the tale of a young woman (Anais Demoustier) who is left reeling by the sudden death of her lifelong best friend (Isild de Besco). One day, she pays an unexpected visit to the friend’s widow (Romain Duris) and makes a discovery that changes both of their lives in highly unexpected ways.
4:15pm: RESULTS Directed by Andrew Bujalski. Starring: Cobie Smulders (In Person), Guy Pearce, Kevin Corrigan, Brooklyn Decker, and Anthony Michael Hall Recently divorced, newly rich, and utterly miserable, Danny (Kevin Corrigan) would seem to be the perfect test subject for a definitive look at the relationship between money and happiness. Danny’s well-funded ennui is interrupted by a momentous trip to the local gym, where he meets self-styled guru/owner Trevor (Guy Pearce) and irresistibly acerbic trainer Kat (Cobie Smulders). Soon, their three lives are inextricably knotted, both professionally and personally.
7pm: UNEXPECTED Directed by Kris Swanberg (In Person). Starring: Cobie Smulders (In Person), Gail Bean, Anders Holm, Michele Sweeney Adams, and DuShon Monique Brown Spirited Chicago schoolteacher Samantha Abbott (Colbie Smulders) is trying to adjust to an unexpected pregnancy and sudden marriage. But Samantha finds new perspective on life through a friendship with promising high-school senior Jasmine (Gail Bean), who’s dealing with her own unplanned pregnancy.
9:30pm: CALL ME LUCKY Directed by Bobcat Goldthwait (In Person). An inspiring, triumphant and wickedly funny portrait of one of comedy’s most enigmatic and important figures, CALL ME LUCKY tells the story of Barry Crimmins (In Person), a beer-swilling, politically outspoken and whip-smart comic whose efforts in the ’70s and ’80s fostered the talents of the next generation of stand-up comedians. But beneath Crimmins’ gruff, hard-drinking, curmudgeonly persona lay an undercurrent of rage stemming from his long-suppressed and horrific abuse as a child—a rage that eventually found its way out of the comedy clubs and television shows and into the political arena. Featuring intimate interviews with both comedians and activists alike, director Bobcat Goldthwait’s (WORLD’S GREATEST DAD, GOD BLESS AMERCA, WILLOW CREEK) CALL ME LUCKY bravely tells Crimmins’ incredible story of transformation from a rage-fueled funnyman into an acclaimed proponent of justice who personified the healing power of comedy.
11:59pm: GOODNIGHT MOMMY In the heat of the summer. A lonesome house in the countryside between woods and corn fields. Nine-year-old twin brothers are waiting for their mother. When she comes home, bandaged after cosmetic surgery, nothing is like before. The children start to doubt that this woman is actually their mother.
SUNDAY, MAY 3
1pm: Shorts Program 1 Including WORLD OF TOMORROW – Grand Jury Prize Winner at Sundance and SXSW. Written and Directed by Don Hertzfeldt.
3pm: SLOW WEST Directed by John Maclean. Starring: Kodi Smit-McPhee, Michael Fassbender, and Ben Mendelsohn Jay (Jodi Smit-McPhee) is a lovelorn, 17-year-old Scottish aristocrat who travels to the American West at the close of the nineteenth century to track down his former lover. Confronted with the harsh realities of the frontier, he falls in with a rough and mysterious traveler named Silas (Michael Fassbender), who soon discovers the focus of Jay’s affection has a price on her head. Together, the two navigate a vast, untamed wilderness while attempting to stay one step ahead of a bloodthirsty posse and a colorful bounty hunter.
5pm: PEOPLE, PLACES, THINGS Directed by James C. Strouse. Starring: Jemaine Clement, Regina Hall, and Jessica Williams Will Henry (Jemaine Clement) is a graphic novelist, a professor at the School of Visual Arts, and the father of beautiful twin girls (Gia and Aundrea Gadsby). But Will’s seemingly picture-perfect Brooklyn life is turned upside down when he catches his longtime girlfriend and mother of his children cheating on him with a friend. A year later, Will is a single father living alone in a tiny studio apartment in Astoria and trying to put his life back together. In this thoughtful comedy, he must navigate the unknown landscape of single fatherhood and dating in New York City while remaining an inspiration for his students and coming to terms with himself as both a father and artist.
7:30pm: BATKID BEGINS Directed by Dana Nachman (In Person). Five-year old Miles Scott spent half his life battling leukemia. So when Miles wants to transform into Batkid, San Francisco’s Make-a-Wish thinks bigger. Why not turn San Francisco into Gotham City? As the idea goes viral, will it overwhelm Miles, Make-a-Wish, and the city, or will the good of humanity make this a day to remember for millions?
10pm: THE KEEPING ROOM Directed by Daniel Barber. Starring: Brit Marling, Hailee Steinfeld, Sam Worthington, and Muna Otaru This western drama directed by Daniel Barber and written by Julia Hart (which landed on the 2012 Black List of Hollywood’s most celebrated unproduced screenplays) looks at the waning days of the Civil War from the unusual perspective of a pair of South Carolina sisters (Brit Marling and Hailee Steinfeld) left behind to work the family farm with the aid of a female slave (Muna Otaru) after the men have gone off to fight and presumably die in the struggle against the North. While wondering what the future will bring with the inevitable coming of Yankee troops, the three are faced with a more immediate peril in the form of a pair of advance scouts (Sam Worthington and Kyle Solter) who are on their own personal rampage and whom they are forced to fight off in an equally brutal manner.
MONDAY, MAY 4
5pm: Shorts Program 2
7pm: QUITTERS Directed by Noah Pritzker (In Person). Starring: Ben Konigsberg, Greg Germann, Mira Sorvino, Saffron Burrows, and Kara Heyward A dark look at affluent, privileged families in San Francisco, where the world of precocious high schooler Clark Rayman (Ben Konigsberg) is crumbling around him. When his mother (Mira Sorvino) checks into rehab and he clashes with his father (Greg Germann), Clark goes in search of affection, convincing the much more stable family of his new girlfriend Natalia (Morgan Turner) to let him move in. As Clark’s presence becomes more intrusive and his father’s efforts to get him back become more violent, Natalia and her family (Saffron Burrows and Scott Lawrence) grow increasingly uncomfortable with the arrangement.
9pm: HEAVEN KNOWS WHAT Directed by Ben Safdie & Joshua Safdie. Starring: Arielle Holmes, Caleb Landry Jones, and Eleonore Hendricks A vagabond couple in NYC battles addiction amidst a manic love affair.
TUESDAY, MAY 5
5pm: BLIND Directed by Eskil Vogt. In Ingrid’s dreams she can see the way the world around her looks; her husband’s office, their favorite restaurant, her memories. It’s when Ingrid awakes each morning and opens her eyes that she remembers she’s blind. With her life suddenly and dramatically changed, Ingrid has retreated to the safety of her apartment where she can feel in control, letting her imagination become her reality and where her deepest fantasies, desires, and fears provide a constant internal monologue. Ingrid has invented her own world to substitute for the one she has lost, but how can she make sense of all that is happening to her, and who can she trust?
7pm DRUNK STONED BRILLIANT DEAD—THE STORY OF THE NATIONAL LAMPOON Directed by Douglas Tirol (In Person). Featuring rare and never-before-seen-footage, this is the mind-boggling story of The National Lampoon from its subversive and electrifying beginnings to its rebirth as an unlikely Hollywood heavyweight, and beyond. A humor empire like no other, the impact of the magazine’s irreverent, often shocking sensibility was nothing short of seismic as the institution’s (drunk, stoned, brilliant) alumni left their fingerprints all over popular culture. Both insanely great and breathtakingly innovative, The National Lampoon set the foundation of modern comic sensibility while setting the bar impossibly high.
9:30pm THE CONNECTION Directed by Cedric Jimenez. Starring: Jean Dujardin, Gilles Lellouche, Céline Sallette, and Benoît Magimel A stylish, ’70s-period crime thriller inspired by true events, Cédric Jimenez’s THE CONNECTION tells the story of real-life Marseilles magistrate Pierre Michel (Jean Dujardin) and his relentless crusade to dismantle the most notorious drug smuggling operation in history: the French Connection. In his crosshairs is charismatic and wealthy kingpin, Gatean “Tany” Zampa (Gilles Lellouche), who runs the largest underground heroin trade into the States. Though the fearless and tenacious Michel, aided by a task force of elite cops, will stop at nothing–including boldly orchestrated drug raids, devastating arrests, and exacting interrogations–to ensure the crime ring’s demise, Zampa’s “La French” always seems one step ahead. As La French mounts its retaliation, Michel will be forced to make the most difficult decision of his life: to continue waging his war, or ensure his family’s safety, before it’s too late.
WEDNESDAY, MAY 6
5pm: THE SECOND MOTHER Directed by Anna Muylaert. When Val (Regina Casé) left her home to work thousands of miles away as a live-in housekeeper for Fabinho (Michel Joelsas) in Sao Paulo, she carried the guilt of leaving her young daughter Jessica behind with relatives. Now, 13 years later, Jessica (Camila Márdila) shows up in Sao Paulo, and her presence throws into disarray the unspoken class barriers within Fabinho’s home.
7:30pm: THE END OF THE TOUR Directed by James Ponsoldt (In Person). Starring Jason Segel, Jesse Eisenberg, Joan Cusack, Anna Chlumsky, and Mamie Gummer Based on David Lipsky’s critically acclaimed memoir “Although Of Course You End Up Becoming Yourself: A Road Trip with David Foster Wallace,” this is the story of a five-day 1996 interview between Rolling Stone reporter and novelist Lipsky (Jesse Eisenberg) and acclaimed writer David Foster Wallace (Jason Segel) following the publication of Wallace’s groundbreaking epic novel, “Infinite Jest.” A tenuous yet intense relationship develops between journalist and subject as the two men bob and weave, sharing laughs and revealing hidden frailties.
10pm: NIGHT OWLS Directed by Charles Hood (In Person). Starring: Adam Pally (In Person), Rosa Salazar, & Tony Hale Workaholic Kevin (Adam Pally) goes home with the beautiful train-wreck Madeline (Rosa Salazar) for a drunken one night stand, but he’s horrified to discover she’s actually his boss’ jilted ex-mistress. After she takes a bottle of sleeping pills, Kevin is forced to keep her awake all night. As Madeline and Kevin banter through the night, they begin to fall for each other.
THURSDAY, MAY 7
6pm: THE OVERNIGHT Directed by Patrick Brice (In Person). Starring: Adam Scott, Jason Schwartzman, and Taylor Schilling Alex (Adam Scott), Emily (Taylor Schilling), and their son, RJ (R.J. Hermes), have recently moved from Seattle to Los Angeles’ Eastside. Feeling lost in a new city and desperate to find new friends, they meet Kurt (Jason Schwartzman) at the neighborhood park and gladly agree to join his family for pizza night at Kurt’s home. But after the kids go to bed, the family “playdate” becomes increasingly more revealing.
8:30pm: ME AND EARL AND THE DYING GIRL Directed by Alfonso Gomez-Rejon (In Person). Starring: Thomas Mann, Olivia Cooke, RJ Cyler, Nick Offerman, Connie Britton, Molly Shannon, and Jon Bernthal In this Sundance Grand Jury and Audience Award winner, awkward, self-deprecating high-school student Greg Gaines (Thomas Mann) is determined to anonymously coast through his senior year while making wacky versions of classic movies with his only friend, Earl (RJ Cyler). But then Greg’s well-meaning mother (Connie Britton) forces him to befriend Rachel (Olivia Cooke), a classmate with leukemia. Though tentative at first, the unlikely duo becomes inseparable—but when Rachel gets sicker, Greg’s well-fortified world is changed forever.
Hope to see you there. And watch this space later in the week; I’m going to be giving away a whole lot of tickets to certain CCFF screenings. Until then…
