Sundance 1998
by Andy Demirsian
Park City, Utah, home of the Sundance Film Festival ’98, gets invaded for a week in January by indie filmmakers, writers, producers, sycophants, and more sunglasses and cellphones than you can shake a stick at. There were also a few movies.
If pale imitations of Pulp Fiction get you hot and bothered, Montana (dir. Jennifer Leitzes, starring Kyra Sedgwick and Stanley Tucci) is a wet dream. The creator’s admirable idea to develop a strong feminine role in the well-worn organized crime genre is mired in an embarrassingly dull story and dialogue. The glum, disillusioned atmosphere of the picture becomes claustrophobic within 20 minutes. John Ritter continues his indie film work, but the part isn’t nearly as well-written as his Sling Blade character. The odd thing about this picture is it seems to want to be both a raw emotional independent film and a Hollywood blockbuster death rampage. The two don’t mix well and the last scene culminates in a hysterical shootout that’s so romanticized you’ll be laughing in the aisles if you haven’t fallen asleep. Not even worth a video rental, avoid this if you don’t like being bored to tears.
Ted Demme’s new movie Snitch, set in Charleston, features Denis Leary acting as well as co-authoring the script. The premise is a very interesting one that hasn’t been done before in the organized crime genre. It’s an examination of the gray area which occurs when your means of survival is also the source of your frustration and pain. In this case, Leary is a carjacking underling for an Irish organized crime unit in Charleston. He becomes increasingly infuriated with his boss’s “business” techniques, but there’s a code of silence in this tough-knit family that won’t allow for any feedback. The film has great intentions to make a small personal statement and was made with lots of passion, but the dialogue often runs into well-traveled territory and doesn’t offer any new insights into a guy who should probably leave town and start all over again. There’s also a great cameo from Cam Neely, which went right over everyone’s heads at the festival. I hope this film does well. You’ve got to root for any film shot in or around Boston, but you might be better served renting a copy of The Ref if you’re in a Denis Leary mood.