Movie Time

Lone Star Film Festival unveils first batch of films for 2017 edition

The Lone Star Film Society has announced the first wave of official selections for the 2017 Lone Star Film Festival, which will take place November 8-12 in Fort Worth. The initial announcement includes eight films, with the full film line-up scheduled to be released in late September.

Among the first eight films, seven of which are making either their Texas or world premieres, are the following:

20 Weeks, a drama directed by Leena Pendharkar. A couple must decide whether to move forward with their pregnancy after their baby is diagnosed with a serious health issue at the 20-week scan. The film, starring Anna Margaret Hollyman and Amir Arison, is making its Texas premiere.
42 Grams, a documentary directed by Jack C. Newell. An intimate portrait of chef Jake Bickelhaupt’s evolution from illegal restaurateur to culinary celebrity and the consequences the transformation has on his life and marriage. The film is making its Texas premiere.
DriverX, a dramedy directed by Henry Barrial. Skidding into middle age, a stay-at-home dad must drive for an Uber-like rideshare company to help support his working wife and two young daughters. Low pay and wild L.A. nights put an even greater strain on his marriage. The film, which stars Patrick Fabian of Better Call Saul, is making its Texas premiere.
Flock of Four, a drama directed by Gregory Caruso. Four best friends search for a legendary jazz musician on Central Avenue in Los Angeles in 1959. The film stars Reg E. Cathey, Braeden Lemasters, Uriah Shelton, Isaac Jay, Dylan Riley Snyder, and Nathan Davis Jr.
Metamorphosis: Junior Year, a drama directed by Alec Cohen-Schisler, Arjan Mobinm, Brandon Fu, Christina Polanen, Dylan Griffith, Juan Santos, Peter Gold, Sadie Fearon, and Sam Cook. Created by Palo Alto High School students, in collaboration with James Franco, Metamorphosis: Junior Year is a coming-of-age tale that follows Ovid, an angsty teenage boy trying to make sense of life, love, sexuality, and friends. Audiences are taken on a journey through the mind as he analyzes the world around him. A portrait of self-discovery that anyone who has ever been a teenager will enjoy, the film, making its Texas premiere, captures adolescence in all its glory: mentors, girlfriends, boyfriends, drugs, and dreams.
Midnighters, a thriller directed by Julius Ramsay. Midnight, New Year's Eve: when all the hopes for new beginnings come to life — except for Lindsey and Jeff Pittman, whose strained marriage faces the ultimate test after they cover up a terrible crime and find themselves entangled in a Hitchcockian web of deceit and madness. The film, starring Alex Essoe and Dylan McTee, is making its Texas premiere.
Muse, a thriller directed by John Burr. A painter’s life is forever changed when a mythical and deadly spirit from Celtic lore — a Leannán Sí — becomes his muse and lover. The film, starring Riley Egan, Elle Evans, and Kate Mansi, is making its Texas premiere.
Rose, a drama directed by Rod McCall. A widowed ex-cop discovers that she may have a life threatening illness, and decides to go on a solo road trip in a motorized wheelchair to explore the beauty of the Southwest. On her journey, Rose discovers more than just the simple beauty of New Mexico when she meets and falls in love with Max, an old cowboy who comes to a crossroads of his own. The film, starring Cybill Shepherd and James Brolin, is making its world premiere.

Screenings for the festival will take place at Four Day Weekend Theater, AMC Palace 9, and other locations in downtown Fort Worth.

Patrick Fabian in DriverX.

Photo courtesy of Lone Star Film Festival

Patrick Fabian in DriverX.

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Movie Review

New thriller A Different Man: a lesson in be careful what you wish for

Photo by Matt Infante/courtesy of A24

Renate Reinsve and Sebastian Stan in A Different Man.

Movies that deal with physical or psychological differences in humans tend to be earnest affairs, with the affected person either rising above the odds or teaching people around them a lesson in compassion. Nothing of the sort is featured in A Different Man, where the only lesson learned is one of humility by the main character with the physical difference.

Edward (Sebastian Stan), whose face and head are enlarged from an unspecified condition, is an actor who makes a meager living starring in workplace education videos. He lives in a drab, rundown apartment, and seems generally depressed, just trying to get through each day without suffering some kind of humiliation.

His outlook starts to change when Ingrid (Renate Reinsve) moves in next door and treats him with kindness. Whether to attract her attention or to get out of his malaise, Edward agrees to an experimental treatment that promises to get rid of his condition. It’s no big spoiler to say that it works, but what happens after is a surprise, especially when Oswald (Adam Pearson), a man with a similar condition but a much sunnier disposition, comes into his life.

Written and directed by Aaron Schimberg, the film is nowhere near as straightforward as that synopsis makes it sound. Schimberg inserts all kinds of weird details, including a never-ending leak in Edward’s apartment and odd time jumps, that keep the audience on their heels. And while it would be wrong to say that Edward’s condition is ignored by others in the film, as he gets more than a few stares, few people actively comment on it.

In fact, Schimberg seems much more interested in Edward’s mental health than his physical state. His personality stands in stark contrast to that of Oswald, who seems to approach every situation with positivity and confidence, as if his condition didn’t even exist. The film has a lot going on after the two meet, but the push and pull between how each man approaches the world provides the central conflict.

Consequently, the film often plays out more as a comedy than as a drama. Edward’s post-transformation world is even stranger than the one he inhabited before, and every interaction he has is laced with an undercurrent of artifice, with no one acting in a normal manner. Edward finds himself in increasingly absurd situations that test his mental wellness, and the oddness of them elicit laughs more than anything else.

Stan is a chameleon of an actor who’s played everything from a Marvel superhero to an upcoming turn as a young Donald Trump. He plays both sides of Edward well, giving off a sad-sack energy no matter his physical state. But it’s Pearson who steals the movie, as he projects a spiritedness that turns Oswald from someone who might be pitied into someone who’s a force of nature. Reinsve makes for an able foil for both characters.

A Different Man is a film that’s in conversation with the recent The Substance, as they both deal with people who seek to change their appearance, albeit for very different reasons. In both cases, it falls under a “be careful what you wish for” scenario, with the solution not necessarily delivering the result the person wanted.

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A Different Man is now playing in theaters.

movies film

Movie Time

Lone Star Film Festival unveils first batch of films for 2017 edition

Patrick Fabian in DriverX.

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Movie Review

New thriller A Different Man: a lesson in be careful what you wish for

These are the 7 best food and drink events in Fort Worth this week

Get tacos with a Middle Eastern twist at Tacos y Rocky in Fort Worth

New food truck brings Fort Worth a deep-fried Philly cheesesteak