The 63rd New York Film Festival (NYFF) is running this year from Sept. 26 to Oct. 13. Arguably the biggest film festival in the United States, many major movies such as “Jay Kelly,” “After the Hunt,” and Palme d’Or winner “It was Just an Accident” debuted at NYFF this year.
The festival primarily takes place at Lincoln Center, but other theaters around the city also host screenings. I attended the festival on Monday, Sept. 29. When trying to book tickets in advance, most of the biggest screenings had sold out quickly after tickets were released. I saw this in real-time as I waited in the online queue the week before, only to come away with one screening I wanted. Luckily, there is also a standby line that allows people to wait in person for a screening, taking any available seats right before the screening starts (which I was able to do). I was fortunate to see two of the biggest premieres, “A House of Dynamite” (Kathryn Bigelow) and “Anemone” (Ronan Day-Lewis), and the following are my takeaways from those experiences.
A House of Dynamite
My first screening of the day was for the upcoming Kathryn Bigelow movie, “A House of Dynamite.” It starts with General Olivia Walker (Rebecca Ferguson) in the situation room learning about an incoming missile. Things seem to be under control until United States defense systems miss the missile, setting up chaos as it makes its way to the mainland. Right as the missile is coming towards Chicago, the movie resets. The actual timespan for the plot in the movie takes place in is only 18 minutes, but the movie shows what’s happening for the main actors in that time.
Suddenly, it cuts to General Brody (Tracy Letts), who is in charge of base trying to stop the missiles. The third act focuses on the President (Idris Elba), trying not to panic as his country is under attack. I appreciated how fast-paced and chaotic each scene was with multiple character perspectives, yet still making the plot straightforward. It was interesting to see Bigelow’s and screenwriter Noah Oppenheim’s takes on what would happen if the U.S. were ever attacked. The acting was good, but not outstanding. The big issue was that it felt repetitive; some scenes were not all that interesting because we know what had happened. I do think there should have been more revealed from each character’s perspective which would have made the screenplay more engrossing. “A House of Dynamite” releases on Oct. 10 in select theaters and on Netflix on Oct. 24.
My Rating: 3.5/5
Current Letterboxd Rating: 3.4/5
Current Rotten Tomato Score: 86%
Q&A with Kathryn Bigelow and others
After the screening, Bigelow, screenwriter Noah Oppenheim, Letts and actor Jared Harris were on stage for a Q&A. The Q&A had set questions asked by a NYFF staff member, so no questions were asked by the audience. Bigelow said she wanted to make an “informative” film inspired by our current political climate. She also approached Oppenheim due to his experiences in national security offices and connections to government officials. They aimed to replicate the pressures and events that would take place in the span of 18 minutes if a nuclear attack were to occur. The Q&A was pretty short, less than 20 minutes. Most of the questions were about the choices made in the film, such as how the cinematography added tension throughout. Overall, the Q&A was interesting to listen to, but mostly just talked about the making of the movie.
Anemone
After “A House of Dynamite” ended, I immediately went on the standby line for “Anemone,” about 50 minutes to showtime. I was the last person to get into the screening. To my surprise, after the screening, there was a Q&A with Daniel Day-Lewis, Ronan Day-Lewis and Sean Bean.
For starters, “Anemone” is a strange movie. The first act has little dialogue and relies on making inferences based on what you’re seeing. It’s not entirely clear when and where it takes place for the entire first act (90s England). “Anemone” follows Ray (Daniel Day-Lewis), a hermit who is full of past grief and trauma, who is visited by his brother Jem (Sean Bean). Another major plot line in “Anemone” is how Ray has neglected his son Brian (Samuel Bottomley) and partner Nessa (Samantha Morton). Brian especially feels depressed without his father, and we see that throughout the film.
A major criticism of the movie is that the screenplay meanders and doesn’t have much plot. While it mostly revolves around a man grieving, the mystery of why is what makes the movie interesting. Thematically, there is a lot more than people think. Ronan Day-Lewis manages to make the movie look really visually appealing, which makes sense given that he has a background in visual art. The main attraction is Daniel Day-Lewis, his first role in eight years after coming out of retirement. He’s great, it’s like he hasn’t missed a beat. That said, the role isn’t that well-written, and there’s only so much he can do with it. He may get some nominations, but likely no wins for his performance. Regardless, it was good to see him back on the big screen. “Anemone” is playing in theaters.
My Rating: 4/5
Current Letterboxd Rating: 2.8/5
Current Rotten Tomato Score: 54%
Q&A with Daniel and Ronan Day-Lewis, and Sean Bean
After the screening, there was a Q&A with Daniel Day-Lewis, Bean and Ronan Day-Lewis. The big question was: Why did Daniel Day-Lewis come out of retirement for this project? It turns out both Daniel and Ronan had the idea to make a project focusing on brotherhood, and they found they wanted to work on it together. They wrote the screenplay in the same room, and it took a while to write which was part of the reason Daniel was retired for so long. It came down to having the same vision, and in there, they realized a father-son relationship was also integral to the story.
I was a bit disappointed that Daniel didn’t speak all that much as I would’ve loved to hear about how it was to come out of retirement. Ronan did lay out his vision for the movie, which honestly clarified it a bit more for me and helped me understand it perfectly.
Conclusion
NYFF was a fun experience, a day well spent. I was happy that such a major film festival was under an hour away from me. Unlike the Toronto International Film Festival, NYFF seemed to be less busy and hectic, which is surprising considering it’s in the center of New York City. It was also great to see not only two premieres, but two film legends at the festival. Seeing Daniel Day-Lewis especially, was something I will never forget, as he is one of my favorite actors. To any cinephiles in the New York City metro area, NYFF runs until Oct. 13. I highly recommend that you attend NYFF if you can, it’s an experience you won’t regret.
