So many great LGBTQ+ films at Sundance 2024!
A24; Amazon MGM Studios
I went to the Sundance Film Festival for the first time this year, and saw some truly amazing queer films! The festival has always been home to many of the best gay, trans, and queer films, and this year was no different!
Here's a rundown of the reviews of the queer movies I saw at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival.
Love Lies Bleeding
Sundance 2024: 'Love Lies Bleeding' will shock you, change you, & make you cheerImage: A24"Starring a terrific Kristen Stewart, a terrifying Ed Harris, and a brilliant breakout performance from Katy O’Brian, Love Lies Bleeding is a movie that will stick with you forever," I wrote about this dark thriller.
"The movie stars Stewart as a gritty dyke working at a gym in a rundown town where her father is a local crime lord. When a new bodybuilder, played by O’Brian, walks into the gym and into her life, Stewart is forced to get involved with the father and life she has tried so hard to distance herself from."
Ponyboi
PonyboiCoutesy of Sundance Institute"Following an intersex sex worker in New Jersey named Ponyboi (played brilliantly by River Gallo), the movie takes place over a single Valentine’s Day night that starts out normally but quickly turns into an intense parade of drugs, chases, violence, and murder when some bad crystal meth provided by Ponyboi’s boss Vinny (a wonderfully vile Dylan O’Brien) kills a member of the mob," I wrote in my review.
"Gallo is a huge star. I can easily see them winning awards on the indie circuit for this movie and hopefully, breaking through to the mainstream awards as well. This is one performance the Academy needs to pay attention to this year."
I Saw the TV Glow
Sundance 2024: Trans horror film 'I Saw the TV Glow' transcends the genreCourtesy of Sundance Institute"I Saw the TV Glow follows two outcast teens who bond over their love of a Buffy-style young adult supernatural TV show called The Pink Opaque. As Owen (played by Ian Foreman and then Justice Smith) and Maddy (Brigette Lundy-Paine) grow, their real lives become more fake, and the show seems to become more real," I said in my review.
"It’s a powerful and deeply resonating trans allegory, but also soars as a horror film, featuring brilliant performances from its two leads and some truly nightmare-inducing creature effects."
Layla
LaylaCourtesy of Sundance Institute"33-year-old British-Iraqi writer/director Amrou Al-Kadhi has made a powerful and beautiful statement with their first feature-length film Layla, which follows a British-Arab drag queen trying to find love and happiness while being true to themself," my review says.
Stress Positions
Sundance 2024: 'Stress Positions' is part of queer cinema's new vanguardCoutesy of Sundance Institute | Photo by NEON"In Theda Hammel’s Stress Positions, comedian John Early shines bright as the hilariously named Terry Goon, a man who is manically trying to take care of his injured Moroccan male model nephew during the height of quarantine in the summer of 2020 while living in a retired 'party house,'" I wrote.
"Stress Positions has a lot going on in its tight 90-minute run. There are a lot of characters, and each is louder than the last, but the chaos and frustration that causes perfectly mimic how we were all feeling during that summer."
My Old Ass
My Old AssCourtesy of Sundance Institute"My Old Ass, written and directed by Megan Park, stars Maisy Stella as 18-year-old Elliott Labrant, a girl who can’t wait to leave her parents’ Canadian cranberry farm for the big city of Toronto. When she and her friends (Maddie Ziegler and Kerrice Brooks) decide to try mushrooms, Elliott meets her future, 39-year-old self (played by a hilariously deadpan Aubrey Plaza) while tripping," I wrote about the movie.
"Overall, My Old Ass will charm many audiences and has a big heart at its center, but its exploration of teen sexuality falls a little flat and may not resonate with all queer viewers."
