I am happy to be returning to the Middleburg Film Festival (October 19-22) in Virginia. As in past years, I will review a handful of movies I will see there, most of them becoming Oscar-winners. Last year, Brendan Fraser appeared with The Whale, director Edward Berger came to speak about All Quiet On The Western Front, and I got a ugly selfie with Rian Johnson after watching Glass Onion. I had fun in this small town at the Salamander Resort which hosts most of the movies being shown. My lineup is already set up and here are some films that I will be checking on.
American Fiction
Winning at Toronto is a strong indication that a film is going to be nominated for multiple Oscars. Newcomer Cord Jefferson writes and directs this comedy-drama following an African-American writer (Jeffrey Wright) who struggles to get his novels published because, apparently, they aren’t Black enough. In frustration, he writes another novel inserting every cliche and every stereotype about African-Americans that suddenly becomes a best-seller, but questions the author’s view as a Black man. Jefferson will be presenting at the festival, so it is an opportunity to see this breakthrough work and meet Jefferson, a new breath of fresh air in American filmmaking.
American Symphony
Matthew Heineman’s new documentary follows Grammy Award-winner Jon Batiste, the former band leader of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. At the peak of his power, he gets the opportunity to create his own original symphony for performance at Carnegie Hall. Simultaneously, as he prepares to marry his girlfriend, author Suleika Jaouad, they learn she has a new recurring battle with leukemia. It’s a story of love, life, and music to bring happiness in a moment of uncertainty.
The Holdovers
Both screenings of this film quickly sold out for the festival, which tells you how anticipated this film is. The new movie from Alexander Payne stars Paul Giamatti as a disliked teacher at a boarding school who has to watch over a talented, but rebellious student, Angus. Along with the school head cook, played by Da’Vine Joy Randolph, the three learn to be a family of sorts during the holidays and deal with their own separate grief. Payne is also going to be present at the festival, giving me a golden opportunity for another ugly selfie.
Saltburn
Emerald Fennell’s follow-up to her Oscar-winning Promising Young Woman is another saucy, dark dramedy following a middle-class Oxford student (Barry Keoghan) who is invited to spend the summer at his friend’s mansion. Introduced to the aristocratic side of life, a path of desire is formed between him and the rest of the family for what is available. Jacob Elordi, Richard Grant, Rosamund Pike, and Carey Mulligan also star in this thriller of a battle of wits for who gets what they want.
Zone Of Interest
Writer/director Johnathan Glazer won the Grand Prix at Cannes with his chilling drama about the family of Auschwitz’s commandant living across the river from the infamous concentration camp. They live a idyllic life, but small reminders on what is actually happening make their way across the river to them, and the possibility of moving is unacceptable to the commandant’s wife. It is a Holocaust drama that chooses to go as close as they can to the worst of it while sitting in the prettiest section of grass next door.
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