The Guardian
Frank & Louis review – moving drama of dementia and caregiving in prison 27 janvier 2026 à 01:53

Frank & Louis review – moving drama of dementia and caregiving in prison

27 janvier 2026 à 01:53

Sundance film festival: strong performances from Kingsley Ben-Adir and Rob Morgan anchor a sensitive film about caregiving as a form of rehabilitation

One of the greatest achievements of a certain kind of Sundance movie is the ability to shine a light on an experience or community we hadn’t previously been aware of. This year’s stoic and sensitive drama Frank & Louis takes us behind bars, a place we’ve been many times before at this festival, but to shadow the taxing work of inmates taking care of those who have dementia, a specifically difficult job in an already difficult place. Petra Volpe, the Swiss writer-director, who last explored a far more known form of caregiving in exhausting nursing drama Late Shift, makes her English language debut with a film inspired by the “Gold Coats” peer support program at the California Men’s Colony state prison.

As with her previous film, there’s real rigour to how she zeroes in on the grind of under-appreciated labour, but while Late Shift was more naturalistic and experiential, Frank & Louis is far more formulaic and emotional, a clearer bid for the heartstrings. It’s a topic that’s hard not to get emotional about, the slow loss of one’s mental abilities, something many of us might be horribly familiar with, and it’s a tough, rather hopeless experience to witness on screen.

Frank & Louis is screening at the Sundance film festival and is seeking distribution

The Guardian
Union County review – an affecting Will Poulter lifts quiet addiction drama 26 janvier 2026 à 05:33

Union County review – an affecting Will Poulter lifts quiet addiction drama

The Guardian

Par :Benjamin Lee in Park City

26 janvier 2026 à 05:33

Sundance film festival: the British actor gives a convincing performance as a man going through the drug court system in a grounded look at rehabilitation

At a festival where the focus is usually on the many micro and macro systemic wrongs in America, there’s something unusually uplifting to find a Serious Issues movie that hinges on something that actually works. Director Adam Meeks came across a rare piece of good news in the hellscape that is the opioid epidemic: the Ohio drug courts that help to rehabilitate addicts through a system of non-judgmental support and a strict, yet not unforgiving, schedule.

His feature debut Union County – an extension of a 2020 short – shows the positive outcome of treating addiction as a problem to be solved, rather than a lifestyle choice to be demonised.

Union County is screening at the Sundance film festival and is seeking distribution

The Guardian
The Gallerist review – Natalie Portman flounders in tiring art world caper 25 janvier 2026 à 22:21

The Gallerist review – Natalie Portman flounders in tiring art world caper

The Guardian

Par :Benjamin Lee in Park City

25 janvier 2026 à 22:21

Sundance film festival: the Oscar winner can’t find the right tone for this grating comedy which also wastes Jenna Ortega, Da’Vine Joy Randolph and Catherine Zeta-Jones

There’s a mildly amusing on-paper joke at the centre of manic art world comedy The Gallerist: what if someone was accidentally impaled on an exhibit but rather than report it, the corpse became part of the artwork?

Sure, poking fun at the absurdity of modern art might seem a little dated and definitely a little too easy but maybe with a packed cast including Oscar winners Natalie Portman, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Da’Vine Joy Randolph, there could be a fun, fast-paced caper here? The answer is a depressing nope, the film a pained and grating misfire played like Weekend at Bernie’s for MoMA members that’s not funny or smart enough to work as farce or satire.

The Gallerist is screening at the Sundance film festival and is seeking distribution

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