Sundance 2023 Review: 13 Stand-Out Movies, From ‘Theater Camp’ to ‘Fair Play’
The 2023 Sundance Film Festival has come to a close, kicking off a year of what promises to be some very good, very gay independent movies.
This year marked the first time since 2020 that Sundance was back in person in the snowy mountains of Park City, Utah. That said, quite a few of the 2023 Sundance movies were available to the public online, and even more so were available to the press who were covering the festival virtually (like yours truly). As Decider’s senior film reporter, I watched over a dozen Sundance films last week from the comfort and warmth of my couch, without ever having to stand in line in the snow.
Not every film was available online—and I admit, I was more than a little relieved I wasn’t able to screen Brandon Cronenberg’s latest nightmare fuel. Infinity Pool online, though it is now in theaters—but quite a few were. My main takeaway from this year’s fest? It’s going to be a great year for queer cinema.
From the hilarious mockumentary Theater Camp to the tense, psychological thriller purchased by Netflix, Fair Playhere are 13 films I loved from the 2023 Sundance Film Festival to keep your eye out for this year.
1
‘Theater Camp’
Director: Molly Gordon, Nick Lieberman
Cast: Molly Gordon, Ben Platt, Noah Galvin, Jimmy Tatro, Patti Harrison, Ayo Edebiri
Two-sentence review: Fantastic news for fans of Christopher Guest and the 2003 Anna Kendrick movie Camp: Your perfect movie has arrived. This hilarious, heartfelt mockumentary about a struggling musical theater camp hits all the right notes (pun intended) and proves that Molly Gordon is ready for stardom.
Where to watch Theater Camp
2
‘Eileen’
Director: William Oldroyd
Cast: Thomasin McKenzie, Anne Hathaway, Shea Whigham
Two-sentence review: When you see Anne Hathaway with a glamorous blonde bob seducing a plain, young working-class girl (an Oscar-worthy Thomasin McKenzie), you might think you’re watching Carol. But boy, are you wrong. This adaptation of Ottessa Moshfegh’s 2015 novel comes with a twist that will leave your jaw on the floor and has the potential to light up the 2024 awards season.
Where to watch Eileen
3
‘Polite Society’
Director: Nida Manzoor
Cast: Priya Kansara, Ritu Arya, Nimra Bucha
Two-sentence review: Nida Manzoor, best known for her Peacock comedy series We Are Lady Parts, has burst into the film scene with her delightful debut feature about a teenage girl (Priya Kansara) who dreams of being a stunt woman. She puts her martial arts training to good use when her sister gets engaged to an undesirable man, and the resulting action-comedy is sharp, clever, and pure, unadulterated fun.
Where to watch Polite Society
4
‘Little Richard: I Am Everything’
Director: Lisa Cortes
Two-sentence review: Little Richard was a complicated man, and Lisa Cortés’s unique documentary doesn’t shy away from the messy parts of his story. Featuring compelling historians who know their stuff, this is a crucial correction of rock ‘n roll history, and the role Black, queer artists had in a genre that is often perceived as belonging to old, white men.
Where to watch Little Richard: I Am Everything
5
‘Sometimes I Think About Dying’
Director: Rachel Lambert
Cast: Daisy Ridley, Dave Merheje, Parvesh Cheena, Marcia DeBonis, Meg Stalter, Brittany O’Grady
Two-sentence review: Daisy Ridley’s quiet character study on a painfully introverted woman—who sometimes passively thinks about dying—couldn’t be further from a galaxy far, far away. Director Rachel Lambert nails the mundane trivialities of office culture, while Ridley nails the mundane trivialities of depression.
Where to watch Sometimes I Think About Dying
6
‘The Stroll’
Director: Kristen Lovell, Zackary Drucker, Angus MacLachlan
Cast: Kristen Lovell, Lío Mehiel, Cole Doman, MiMi Ryder, Alejandro Goic
Two-sentence review: If you’ve ever watched a documentary about the trans community directed by someone on the outside (like, say, Paris is burning), then The Stroll is a must-watch, if only for the chance to hear the history of the trans sex workers in New York City told by the people who lived it. Kristen Lovell, who co-directed the film with Zackary Drucker, worked as a sex worker in Manhattan’s Meatpacking District for years, and she gathered her friends and former co-workers to archive their history in a way that’s fascinating, heartbreaking, and impossible to look away from
Where to watch The Stroll
7
‘Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields’
Director: Lana Wilson
Cast: Brooke Shields
Two-sentence review: As she did with Taylor Swift in Miss Americana, director Lana Wilson gets to the heart of what we’ve all gotten wrong about Brooke Shields, and gives her the platform to set the record straight. This harrowing two-part Hulu documentary features Shields reflecting on her years as a young girl who was treated as an object by producers, directors, and audiences alike.
Where to watch Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields
8
‘My Animal’
Director: Jacqueline Castel
Cast: Bobbi Salvor Menuez, Amandla Stenberg, Stephen McChattie
Two-sentence review: Director Jacqueline Castel and writer Jae Matthews took the trope of lycanthropy as a metaphor for homosexuality and said, “Hey, what if we made that explicit?” The result is the lesbian teen werewolf story we deserve, featuring Bobbi Salvör Menuez and Amandla Stenberg perfecting the art of gay longing.
Where to watch My Animal
9
‘Cassandro’
Director: Roger Ross Williams
Cast: Gael García Bernal, Roberta Colindrez, Raúl Castillo
Two-sentence review: Gael García Bernal rarely misses, and this uplifting biopic about the “exotico” character created by Saúl Armendáriz, one of Mexico’s first famous gay luchador wrestlers, is no exception. Bernal throws himself into the character completely, and his tender performance will have you in tears.
Where to watch Cassandro
10
‘Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie’
Director: Davis Guggenheim
Cast: Michael J. Fox
Two-sentence review: It’s been over twenty years since Michael J. Fox shocked the entertainment world with the news that he had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease at 29 years old, and in this new Apple TV+ documentary, the Back to the Future star reflects on his career and his illness with brutal honesty and vulnerability. While the movie may not be revelatory, it’s absolutely a moving watch—especially for Michael J. Fox fans.
Where to watch Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie
11
‘Fairyland’
Director: Andrew Durham
Cast: Scoot McNairy, Emilia Jones, Geen Davis, Cody Fern, Adam Lambert, Maria Bakalova
Two-sentence review: Sundance 2023 was a year for the gays, including this tear-jerker biopic based on Alysia Abbott’s 2013 memoir about her gay, single father. It starts as an indulgent bohemian fantasy of the queer San Francisco community in the ’70s, but soon becomes a soul-crushing reflection on the AIDS crisis, anchored by an unforgettable performance from Scoot McNairy.
Where to watch Fairyland
12
‘Fair Play’
Director: Chloe Domont
Cast: Phoebe Dynevor, Alden Ehrenreich, Eddie Marsan
Two-sentence review: Although it’s been billed as an erotic thriller, Chloe Domont’s tense psychological drama feature debut starring Phoebe Dynevor and Alden Ehrenreich as a finance power couple is more quietly disturbing than it is sexy. I never thought I’d root for Wall Street, but as it turns out, Dynevor makes the perfect venture capitalist underdog. (You’ll see this one on Netflix later this year, thanks to the streamer’s $20 million purchase.)
Where to watch Fair Play
13
‘Bad Behaviour’
Director: Alice Englert
Cast: Jennifer Connelly, Ben Whishaw, Alice Englert, Ana Scotney, Dasha Nekrasova, Marlon Williams
Two-sentence review: There’s no one better to play a former child actress who’s pushed to her breaking point than Jennifer Connelly, and she absolutely knocks her performance out of the park in this bizarre, detached dark comedy. Although the plot doesn’t quite connect, this one is worth the watch for the actors: in addition to Connelly, Ben Whishaw plays a disingenuous spiritual leader, and Alice Englert plays Connelly’s troubled on-screen daughter.
Where to watch Bad Behaviour