"88" // TRIBECA 2022

BY MATEO MORENO

The political drama 88 has a lot on its mind and a lot of lofty ambitions, many of which it tackles quite well. The setting is during the next Presidential election of 2024. And although this isn't a Donald Trump world, this reality has plenty of similarities with ours. Femi Jackson (Brandon Victor Dixon) is our eyes in, a financial director of a Super PAC called "One USA." The main purpose of the Super PAC is to get Harold Roundtree (Orlando Bloom), a charismatic Democratic candidate for President and the real frontrunner. He believes in his candidate and his message of change, but his wife Maria (Naturi Naughton) doesn't buy into his rhetoric. One day, Femi begins to notice an irregular pattern appearing within the Super PAC donations. He needs a second set of eyes, so his friend Ira Goldstein (Thomas Sadoski), an investment banker, takes a look at it and is equally mystified by what he sees. What are these irregularities and donations all equaling up in various ways to the amount of 88? It's too strange of a pattern to be a coincidence. And once the investigation gains traction, an entire conspiracy begins to unravel.

88 is a high-stakes and high-concept political thriller that has a lot to say about the ick factor of behind the scenes government action, donations and also a lot to say about race in America. A subplot finds Maria trying to get a customer a loan who happens to be a black ex-felon, someone who's put his life back on track and works incredibly hard. Yet, no matter what she does, his future loan seems like an impossibility. Equal opportunities do not seem to exist to everyone. She also has a pointed conversation regarding race with her husband and the fact that their son loves Black Panther. While they both agree that he's an empowering character, Femi states that, "It's made a billion dollars" to which his wife counters, "For who?" Many conversations tackle question after question regarding race, even racism within their own community. They're powerful moments, paired with a worm hole of a conspiracy plot that just seems to get deeper and deeper. Not all of the twists work, not does all the dialogue but the very strong performances from the cast make it shine, especially Brandon Victor Dixon, Thomas Sadoski and Naturi Naughton. Dixon and Sadoski have a great chemistry together and are both thrillingly engaging and relatable. Naughton's performance is strong and assured, with a loving grace that matches her caring mother/wife character. Even though this is a fictional story, much of it feels real (especially with the plot being peppered by real life organizations and issues). It's a strong directorial effort from Ermose, one that should leave quite a sting once it all wears off.

GRADE: B+

WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY Eromose STARRING Brandon Victor Dixon, Naturi Naughton, Orlando Jones, Thomas Sadoski, William Fichtner, Amy Sloan SELECTED AS PART OF THE 2022 TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL. FOR MORE INFO: 88

"ATTACHMENT" // TRIBECA 2022

BY MATEO MORENO

ATTACHMENT is a wickedly smart new horror film that blends a romantic meet cute story into a religious thrill fest and both work well on their own and together. It's smart, well-written, well-acted and original take on a set-up that we've seen before. But thanks to writer/director Gabriel Bier Gislason's whip smart script and steady directing, it's a set-up that we haven't seen quite like this before. Maja (Josephine Park) is an actress who quite literally bumps into an English student Leah (Ellie Kendrick) in a library and the classic meet-cute happens. It feels purposefully like we're watching a rom-com: Maja is dressed as an elf, working at a kids event in the library and she meets Leah. Instantly they are drawn to each other with an equal spark between them. We follow them as they immediately jump into spending every moment together, with Leah even cancelling her trip home back to England. They are blissfully happy.

That is, until Leah has a seizure and ends up breaking her leg. So she's forced to return home to England, with Maja joining her to her home, shared by her Mother Chana (Sofie Gråbøl). We learn immediately that Chana is very religious, an Orthodox Jewish woman who believes she and her daughter must exist separately from everyone, including Leah's new sweetheart Maja. Maja doesn't understand why her mother won't let her in, so she wanders around the neighborhood and finds a religious book shop that happens to be run by Maja's uncle Lev (David Dencik). She shares her need for knowledge and although he immediately knows that she is indeed an outsider, he tells her all about the mysticism that exists within the Jewish faith, such as what a Dybbuk is (a spirt that has invaded a body) and what a Golem is. A Golem is a specific object that defends a Jewish family after it's been "brought to life," and these two particular things are of the utmost importance with Leah's family.

Maja knows that there's strangeness brewing within their home and she has to figure out what is happening to Leah, who seems to be growing different with each day. The relationship between Leah and her mother is also concerning, especially how controlling Chana is with her daughter. Is there true horror creeping in? Mental illness, control issues? All of the above? What works so well is how carefully balanced the film is and how the romance never gives in for the suspense and the suspense never overtakes the romance. It all works as one, and the four lead actors are all just captivating. Josephine Park and Ellie Kendrick are perfectly matched and their chemistry and passion is electric to watch. You also deeply care for both of them and Sofie Gråbøl's performance shadows over them in a thrilling way. Finally, David Dencik is striking and dryly hilarious. Without giving too much away, the film satisfies throughout and is a knock-out discovery. I hope you discover it as well.

GRADE: A

WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY Gabriel Bier Gislason STARRING Josephine Park, Ellie Kendrick, Sofie Gråbøl, David Dencik SELECTED AS PART OF THE 2022 TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL. FOR MORE INFO: ATTACHMENT

"A WOUNDED FAWN" // TRIBECA 2022

BY MATEO MORENO

A WOUNDED FAWN is a wild, subversive, ambitious and explosive movie that takes a lot of risks, most of which pay off. Josh Ruben plays Bruce, a man in a room full of buyers at an art auction. Most there are buyers, bidding on items that they are hopeful to bring home to their clients. Josh loses out on a bid for an item from Ancient Greece depicting "The Furies." Kate (Malin Barr) outbids him and walks away with the statue for her client. Strangely, Bruce ends up paying Kate a visit. We then get a glimpse into who Bruce truly is: a murderous psychopath who speaks to a mysterious owl creature that tells him to kill. The next sequence delves deeper into that: he's heading on a vacation getaway with a woman named Meredith (Sarah Lind). Meredith thinks that a romantic weekend away is what's in the cards. However, Josh's true nature is exposed fairly quickly and the murder within comes out again. However, Meredith isn't quite the victim that Josh assumed.

What follows is a strange and mind-bending trip first following Bruce's victims to then shifting inside of Bruce's own fractured mind and watch his unraveling. By switching up the narrative and the entire storytelling style, Director Travis Stevens really unleashes a brutally original work here. The introduction of "The Furies" from Ancient Greece isn't an accident and the melting of surrealism and reality is unnerving and simply wild. Josh Ruben's unhinged performance is wonderful to watch (and often frightening) and Sarah Lind is equally wonderful (as is the rest of the cast here). Unwrapping toxic masculinity, the horrors of mankind (especially MENkind) and gender dynanics throughout the years, A Wounded Fawn has a lot on its plate and tackles all of them with a gory, demented way. It'll knock you off balance and have you hopeful for new and intriguing horror films to come.

GRADE: A-

WRITTEN BY Travis Stevens, Nathan Faudree DIRECTED BY Travis Stevens STARRING Josh Ruben, Sarah Lind, Malin Barr, Katie Kuang, Laksmi Hedemark, Tanya Everett, Marshall Taylor Thurman, Leandro Taub, Neal Mayer SELECTED AS PART OF THE 2022 TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL. FOR MORE INFO: A WOUNDED FAWN