SXSW: 6 films that caught our eye from Midnight Special to Sausage Party

The film festival turned 30 this year and continues to grow in size and scope

Jaeden Lieberher in Midnight Special, one of the films tipped from this year's festival

SXSW turned 30 this year and it’s a festival that continues to grow in both size and scope with every passing year. It’s position as a three-headed beast of Music, Film and Interactive runs for 10 days in the city of Austin, Texas. Its film programme takes on narrative features, documentaries, shorts, special events and TV episodes (of which we already picked out a couple of highlights).

Many of these screenings are world premieres and whilst the festival doesn’t command the same degree of glitz and paparazzi attention that somewhere like Cannes does, there’s still plenty of stars to be found treading on red carpets, usually just yards away from passers by snacking on tacos or evading the pummelling Texas heat. This more understated approach the festival has results in a much more audience-facing festival than one aimed at pandering to industry, so the ability to squeeze in numerous films a day without queuing for hours on end is possible. Here is a selection of six films from the various strands of this year’s festival to keep on eye on throughout the rest of the year.

Demolition

Wild, Jean-Marc Valée’s follow up to the acclaimed Dallas Buyers Club, didn’t quite hit with the same degree of clout as it predecessor but the aptly titled Demolition is a dynamic film starring Jake Gyllenhaal as a successful investment banker whose mental health and personal life takes a plunge after his wife dies and as he develops a fondness for demolishing and deconstructing all things in his life, both material and psychological. It’s a humorous script and one that invites the audience to laugh at the absurdity of some of the situations Gyllenhaal’s character finds himself in, such as a bizarre semi-relationship with Karen, played by Naomi Watts and her sexually confused son, Chris, which arises from a series of complaint letters he sends to a vending company. The film is not the subtlest in its content but buried underneath the wry humour, nagging satire and personal trauma is a film that speaks as much about mental health and the crumbling state of masculinity in contemporary society as it does the surface level explorations the drama delivers. Gyllenhaal’s performance recalls the occasionally emotionally void, stoic and brooding ones as delivered in films such as Nightcrawler and Donnie Darko, and it’s clearly a position he finds himself taking to very comfortably.

Midnight Special

Jeff Nichols’ latest (Take Shelter, MUD) is a tough one to go into without giving out too many spoilers but if Michael Shannon on the run from both a religious cult and the Federal Government with a child in possession of world-changing information sounds like an enjoyable way to lose two hours then it’s worth investigating. It’s a film that splits across multiple genres and offers as many surprises, both visually and narratively, along the way as a result.

Hardcore Henry

If you’re drawn to first person shooter video games, senseless violence, non-stop action and sub-Guy Ritchie levels of script writing then Hardcore Henry is likely to be an absolute blast for you. It’s shot entirely in the first person and both cinematically and developmentally it plays out exactly like a computer game, as Henry tears through his world amidst a blaze of gunfire and unrelenting high-octane action. There’s little beyond the novelty of the set-up to find particularly interesting and narrative depth is non-existent but it’s likely to appeal enormously to those who like big, brash violence and screeching ceaseless action. The SXSW audience certainly took to it and whooped, hollered and clapped throughout its entire bloody duration.

BLACK

A sort of Romeo and Juliet tale set in contemporary Belgium amidst rival youth gangs. Black was one of the less anticipated films of the festival but came out shining through it’s gritty violence, surging pace and gripping authenticity when it comes to capturing the lexicon, issues and desires of teenagers. Acting as a fierce statement on love, lust, youth culture and migration, the result is not dissimilar to the impact and tension that La Haine offered more than twenty years ago.

Sausage Party

Screened as a work in progress Sausage Party has been compiled by long-time friends and collaborators Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg. This 3D animation film is set to be something of a spoof of the Disney Pixar films that have become such a dominating force in contemporary film, often both critically and commercially. However, as one might expect from Rogen & co. this is very much an adult version and when released will be the first ever R-rated animated movie. During the Q&A Rogen said that the idea came from nothing other than thinking it would be funny to make a film about a hot dog that could talk and who wanted to have sex with a female bun. Eight years later that realisation has come true, although thankfully the idea has extended beyond that as we look at talking food in a supermarket who view being picked by consumers “Gods” as being the holy grail of happiness until news reaches them as to what actually happens: they are murdered and eaten. It’s got some excellent scenes in it, many of which are well set-up, timed and scripted, including an unexpected intravenous drug use scene and a particularly hilarious, and strangely graphic, orgy scene between various supermarket food products. It has a strong cast and Edward Norton doing his best Woody Allen impression as a character named Sammy Bagel Jr is a real standout. It’s a film that relies a little too heavily on stereotypes throughout, including racial ones, but fans of Rogen’s usual shtick will no doubt fall head over heels for it.

Artist & Repertoire

A documentary on James Lavelle: record label owner, DJ and one half of 90s sensation UNKLE (along with DJ Shadow). This is an excellent film that looks at the life and work of Lavelle from becoming a millionaire at 21 due to the success of his label Mo Wax to his gradual descent into debt, drugs and a giant creative void. It traverses hip-hop, trip-hop, dance and rock culture and works as an incredibly personal portrait that is as critical and challenging a portrayal of Lavelle as it is a, at times, gushing one. Lavelle even seems to have put his own ego aside for the sake of the film and some of the personal videos he has allowed to be used make for voyeuristic and uncomfortable viewing but ultimately it’s that balance that makes the film such an engaging watch as it captures the last decade in the music industry in which such excess was possible.