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Drama

Festival Coverage
I Smile Back still

TIFF 2015: Smiling Back with Adam Salky, Amy Koppelman, and Paige Dylan

September 25, 2015Addison Wylie0 Comments

By: Shannon Page Wylie Writes had the opportunity to sit down with director Adam Salky (Dare), as well as writers Amy Koppelman and Paige Dylan, about their film I Smile Back which stars Sarah Silverman as a drug and alcohol abusing New Jersey housewife trying to keep herself and her family together.  Koppelman and Dylan co-wrote the screenplay, based off of Koppelman’s 2008 novel by the same name. “The novel was incredibly helpful in making…

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Festival Coverage
I Smile Back still

TIFF 2015: ‘I Smile Back’

September 12, 2015Addison Wylie2 Comments

By: Shannon Page Probably best known for her stand-up comedy and satirical roles, Sarah Silverman isn’t the first name that comes to mind when one thinks of serious dramatic actresses – but maybe she should be. Directed by Adam Salky (Dare), I Smile Back stars Silverman as Laney Brooks, a suburban housewife and mother of two.  In between packing lunches and driving the kids to school, Laney’s self-destructive behavior and out-of-control drug use begin to…

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Reviews

We Are Your Friends

September 4, 2015Addison Wylie3 Comments

By: Addison Wylie In five years, when you catch We Are Your Friends on cable, you’ll regret not seeing it in theatres.  For me, I felt like I was watching an exciting, addictive shockwave.  A realized movie that knew the power of music and its behavioural persuasion, as well as the importance of a key controller.  The movie may not have fast cars or roaring dinosaurs, but We Are Your Friends calls for a big screen experience….

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Reviews

The Kindergarten Teacher

August 16, 2015Addison Wylie0 Comments

By: Shannon Page Despite the understated aesthetic appeal of a few scenes, Israeli writer and director Nadav Lapid’s drama about a kindergarten teacher (Sarit Larry) who discovers a prodigal talent for poetry in one of her young students is remarkably dry of feeling. As the plot moves through an earnest attempt to explore the necessity for preserving art and beauty in a world that is increasingly hostile and dismissive of poetry, the characters motivations and…

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Reviews

The Gift

August 9, 2015Addison Wylie0 Comments

By: Trevor Jeffery The Gift isn’t an exception to the notion that suspense-thrillers lose substantial value on subsequent viewings, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be one hell of a ride the first time through. Simon (Jason Bateman) and Robyn (Rebecca Hall) seek a fresh start in California, not far from where Simon grew up.  An old high school acquaintance, Gordon (still going by his high school nickname, Gordo) (Joel Edgerton) approaches Simon and Robin…

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Reviews

A Hard Day

July 25, 2015Addison Wylie0 Comments

By: Addison Wylie A hard day is right.  Nothing appears to be going well for  Detective Gun-soo (played by Seon-gyun Lee).  On the eve of his mother’s burial, he hits a drifter with his car while a corrupt operation to which Gun-soo was deeply involved with crumbles away.  The sudden hit-and-run has the unconventional homicide detective thinking on his toes.  He stows the body in the trunk of his car and brainstorms a connecting idea…

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Reviews

1001 Grams

July 18, 2015Addison Wylie0 Comments

By: Addison Wylie The metric system has never been more sexy or sentimental than it is in Bent Hamer’s 1001 Grams.  Now that I have your attention, let’s move towards some of the drier details. Marie (played by Ane Dahl Torp) is a Norwegian scientist who is close with her intellect father Ernst Ernst (played by Stein Winge).  Both of their careers circulate around the analysis of measurements, and they both discuss work during their smoke…

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Reviews

Mr. Holmes

July 16, 2015Addison Wylie0 Comments

By: Mark Barber Current representations of Sherlock Holmes are filled with weighty world-threatening stakes and explosive action sequences.  Bill Condon’s more peaceful and contemplative Mr. Holmes seeks to rectify that inclination, offering a more poignant take on the famous deerstalker-wearing detective. Indeed, Sherlock’s trademark cap never appears in the film, and for good reason.  Mr. Holmes is about the interplay between fact and fiction, spending much of its running time reconciling the elderly Holmes’ (Ian…

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Reviews

Strangerland

July 14, 2015Addison Wylie0 Comments

By: Addison Wylie The characters in the Australian/Ireland import Strangerland are surrounded by miles of flatland.  The tattered town of Nathgari maintain a tight community, yet there is a sense of feeling forlorn and stranded.  Newly minted feature filmmaker Kim Farrant uses these qualities to effectively stir up restlessness and sputtering hope when her story of missing children is in full swing. Catherine and Matthew (played by Nicole Kidman and Joseph Fiennes) are still adapting…

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