Top Independent Films Spring 2015

  DANNY COLLINS 
DANNY COLLINS  Movie PosterInspired by a true story, Al Pacino stars as aging 1970s rocker Danny Collins, who can't give up his hard-living ways. But when his manager (Christopher Plummer) uncovers a 40 year-old undelivered letter written to him by John Lennon, he decides to change course and embarks on a heartfelt journey to rediscover his family, find true love and begin a
second act.

 

  DANNY COLLINS TRAILER


  WHILE WE'RE YOUNG 
WHILE WE'RE YOUNG Movie PosterNoah Baumbach's exploration of aging, ambition and success stars Stiller and Watts as a middle-aged couple whose career and marriage are overturned when a disarming young couple (Driver and Seyfried) enters their lives. 

 

 

 

WHILE WE'RE YOUNG TRAILER

 


  WHITE GOD 
WHITE GOD  Movie PosterWinner of the Prize Un Certain Regard Award at this year’s Cannes Festival, Kornel Mundruczo’s newest film is a story of the indignities visited upon animals by their supposed “human superiors,” but it’s also an brutal, beautiful metaphor for the political and cultural tensions sweeping contemporary Europe. When young Lili is forced to give up her beloved dog Hagen, because it's mixed-breed heritage is deemed 'unfit' by The State, she and the dog begin a dangerous journey back towards each other. At the same time, all the unwanted, unloved and so-called 'unfit' dogs rise up under a new leader, Hagen, the one-time housepet who has learned all too well from his 'Masters' in his journey through the streets and animal control centers how to bite the hands that beats him …

WHITE GOD TRAILER

 


  EX-MACHINA
EX-MACHINA Movie PosterAlex Garland, writer of 28 Days Later and Sunshine, makes his directorial debut with the stylish and cerebral thriller, EX MACHINA. Caleb Smith (Domhnall Gleeson), a programmer at an internet-search giant, wins a competition to spend a week at the private mountain estate of the company's brilliant and reclusive CEO, Nathan Bateman (Oscar Isaac). Upon his arrival, Caleb learns that Nathan has chosen him to be the human component in a Turing Test—charging him with evaluating the capabilities, and ultimately the consciousness, of Nathan’s latest experiment in artificial intelligence. That experiment is Ava (Alicia Vikander), a breathtaking A.I. whose emotional intelligence proves more sophisticated––and more deceptive––than the two men could have imagined.

EX-MACHINA  TRAILER
 


  CHILD 44 
CHILD 44  Movie PosterA politically-charged serial killer thriller set in 1953 Soviet Russia, CHILD 44 chronicles the crisis of conscience for secret police agent Leo Demidov [Tom Hardy], who loses status, power and home when he refuses to denounce his own wife, Raisa [Noomi Rapace], as a traitor. Exiled from Moscow to a grim provincial outpost, Leo and Raisa join forces with General Mikhail Nesterov [Gary Oldman] to track down a serial killer who preys on young boys. Their quest for justice threatens a system-wide cover-up enforced by Leo’s psychopathic rival Vasili [Joel Kinnaman], who insists “There is no crime in Paradise.” 

  CHILD 44 TRAILER


  LITTLE BOY 
 LITTLE BOY  Movie PosterSet during the height of World War II, the film centers on a little boy, Pepper Flynt Busbee (Jakob Salvati), who is willing to do whatever it takes to end World War II so that he can bring his father home. Through his struggle, Pepper learns lessons of morality, such as the value of self sacrifice, how to face the town's bullies (at times hilariously depicted), the importance of racial equality, and many lessons in between. 

 

LITTLE BOY TRAILER

 


  5 FLIGHTS UP
5 FLIGHTS UP Movie PosterWhen Ruth (Diane Keaton) and Alex (Morgan Freeman) first moved to Brooklyn, it was the 1970s — years before gentrification,
and years before they would realize that they won't always be physically able to climb several flights of stairs just to get home. Still highly active, yet feeling the undeniable effects of age, the couple opts to put their apartment on the market. But the decision coincides with a flurry of problematic events. A trailer jackknifes on the Williamsburg Bridge and the driver inexplicably flees the scene, putting all of New York on an overblown terrorist alert. The couple's dog becomes ill and the vet bill comes to $10,000. An overwhelming sequence of encounters with realtors, agents, and snotty bargain hunters only adds to their troubles.

 


  GOOD KILL 
GOOD KILL  Movie PosterIn the shadowy world of drone warfare, combat unfolds like a video game-only with real lives at stake. After six tours of duty, Air Force pilot Tom Egan (Ethan Hawke) yearns to get back into the cockpit of a real plane, but he now fights the Taliban from an air-conditioned box in the Las Vegas desert. When he and his crew start taking orders directly from the CIA, and the stakes are raised, Egan's nerves-and his relationship with his wife (Mad Men's January Jones)-begin to unravel. Revealing the psychological toll drone pilots endure as they are forced to witness the aftermath of their fight against insurgents, Andrew Niccol (Gattaca, Lord of War) directs this riveting insider's view of 21st-century warfare, in which operatives target enemies from half a
world away.

 


  THE CONNECTION 
THE CONNECTION  Movie PosterDirected and co-written by Cédric Jimenez, THE CONNECTION was entirely shot on 35 mm and is the European flipside to William Friedkin's The French Connection. A stylish, 70's-period crime thriller inspired by true events, it tells the story of real-life Marseilles magistrate Pierre Michel (Jean Dujardin) and his relentless crusade to dismantle the most notorious drug smuggling operation in history: the French Connection. In his crosshairs is charismatic and wealthy kingpin, Gatean "Tany" Zampa (Gilles Lellouche), who runs the largest underground heroin trade into the States. Though the fearless and tenacious Michel, aided by a task force of elite cops, will stop at nothing--including boldly orchestrated drug raids, devastating arrests, and exacting interrogations--to ensure the crime ring's demise, Zampa's "La French" always seems one step ahead. As La French mounts its retaliation, Michel will be forced to make the most difficult decision of his life: to continue waging his war, or ensure his family's safety, before it's too late.

  THE CONNECTION TRAILER


  LOVE & MERCY
LOVE & MERCY Movie PosterLOVE & MERCY presents an unconventional portrait of Brian Wilson, the mercurial singer, songwriter and leader of The Beach Boys. Set against the era defining catalog of Wilson’s music, the film intimately examines the personal voyage and ultimate salvation of the icon whose success came at extraordinary personal cost.


LOVE & MERCY TRAILER

  


  MADAME BOVARY
MADAME BOVARY Movie PosterSet in Normandy, France, Madame Bovary is Gustave Flaubert's classic story of Emma Bovary (Mia Wasikowska), a young beauty who impulsively marries small-town doctor, Charles Bovary (Henry Lloyd-Hughes), to leave her father's pig farm far behind. But after being introduced to the glamorous world of high society, she soon becomes bored with her stodgy husband and mundane life, and seeks prestige and excitement outside the bonds of marriage. 

 MADAME BOVARY TRAILER

 


  SET FIRE TO THE STARS 
SET FIRE TO THE STARS Movie PosterBased on true events, Elijah Wood stars as John Malcolm Brinnin, the New York academic who brought Dylan Thomas to America. Actor/co-writer Celyn Jones plays the volatile celebrity poet – tormented by anonymity, alcohol and the abyss – who scandalized the Manhattan literati of the Fifties and challenged Brinnin’s hero worship of his work. In the face of the Welsh poet’s wilder excesses in the Big Apple – angel, beast and madman – John has no choice but to hijack Dylan to a private retreat to get him ready for America. The days and nights that follow will change his life forever. Part literary biopic and – shot in cut-glass black-and-white – part love-letter to the American B-movies of the Forties and Fifties, Andy Goddard’s debut feature is both a character driven chamber piece and a cautionary tale about the flytrap of meeting your heroes.

 


  ME AND EARL AND THE DYING GIRL 
ME AND EARL AND THE DYING GIRL  Movie PosterWinner of the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival, ME AND EARL AND THE DYING GIRL is the uniquely funny, moving story of Greg (Thomas Mann), a high school senior who is trying to blend in anonymously, avoiding deeper relationships as a survival strategy for navigating the social minefield that is teenage life. He even describes his constant companion Earl (RJ Cyler), with whom he makes short film parodies of classic movies, as more of a 'co-worker’ than a best friend. But when Greg’s mom (Connie Britton) insists he spend time with Rachel (Olivia Cooke) – a girl in his class who has just been diagnosed with cancer - he slowly discovers how worthwhile the true bonds of friendship can be.

ME AND EARL AND THE DYING GIRL TRAILER


  MANGLEHORN
MANGLEHORN Movie PosterReclusive small town locksmith A.J. Manglehorn (Al Pacino) has never recovered from losing the love of his life, Clara. Fixated on her memory, he feels closer to his beloved cat than the people around him. Still, he forges on with his tenuous human connections, maintaining intermittent contact with his son (Chris Messina) and taking misplaced pride in a former protégé gone astray, and establishing a cautious friendship with a kind woman from the local bank. As this solitary man approaches the possibility of new love, he finds himself at a crossroads between staying mired in the past and embracing the present. Instilled with director David Gordon Green's unique brand of eccentricity and anchored by a remarkably rich, understated performance from Pacino, Manglehorn is a movingly humanistic portrait of a man rendered with unsentimental simplicity and idiosyncratic humor.

MANGLEHORN TRAILER 

 


  SOAKED IN BLEACH 
SOAKED IN BLEACH Movie PosterSOAKED IN BLEACH reveals the events behind Kurt Cobain's death as seen through the eyes of Tom Grant, the private investigator that was hired by Courtney Love in 1994 to track down her missing husband (Kurt Cobain) only days before his deceased body was found at their Seattle home. Cobain's death was ruled a suicide by the police (a reported self-inflicted gunshot wound), but doubts have circulated for twenty years as to the legitimacy of this ruling, especially due to the work of Mr. Grant, a former L.A. County Sheriff's detective, who did his own investigation and determined there was significant empirical and circumstantial evidence to conclude that foul play could very well have occurred. The film develops as a narrative mystery with cinematic re-creations, interviews with key experts and witnesses and the examination of official artifacts from the 1994 case.

 


  WHERE HOPE GROWS
WHERE HOPE GROWS Movie PosterCalvin Campbell is a former professional baseball player sent to an early retirement due to his panic attacks at the plate. Even though he had all the talent for the big leagues, he struggles with the curveballs life has thrown him. Today, he mindlessly sleepwalks through his days and the challenge of raising his teenager daughter. His life is in a slow downward spiral when it is suddenly awakened and invigorated by the most unlikely person – Produce, a young-man with Down syndrome who works at the local grocery store.

Calvin slowly loses the chip on his shoulder as he begins to experience the world through Produce’s eyes. Faith, work, purpose and most importantly family, blossom into Calvin’s life as their friendship develops. The unlikely pair becomes intertwined giving Calvin’s life new meaning and purpose, but unfortunately leads to tragedy due to single decision echoed from Calvin’s past.

Where Hope Grows is a story of finding redemption through faith, hope and love.

WHERE HOPE GROWS TRAILER

 


  SAINT LAURENT
SAINT LAURENT Movie PosterAs one of history's greatest fashion designers entered a decade of freedom, neither came out of it in one piece.

 

 


 


  FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD
FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD Movie PosterBased on the literary classic by Thomas Hardy, FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD is the story of independent, beautiful and headstrong Bathsheba Everdene (Carey Mulligan), who attracts three very different suitors: Gabriel Oak (Matthias Schoenaerts), a sheep farmer, captivated by her fetching willfulness; Frank Troy (Tom Sturridge), a handsome and reckless Sergeant; and William Boldwood (Michael Sheen), a prosperous and mature bachelor. This timeless story of Bathsheba’s choices and passions explores the nature of relationships and love – as well as the human ability to overcome hardships through resilience and perseverance.

FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD TRAILER

  


  NED RIFLE 
NED RIFLE Movie PosterNED RIFLE is the third and final chapter of Hartley's tragicomic epic, which began with Henry Fool (1998) and continued with Fay Grim (2007). At once a saga concerning the Grim family of Woodside Queens and how their lives are turned upside down by the arrival of the self-proclaimed genius, Henry Fool (Thomas Jay Ryan), the trilogy is also an illustration of America's grappling with ideas, art, politics, and religion over the course of twenty years. In this swiftly paced and expansive conclusion, Henry and Fay's (Parker Posey) son, Ned (Liam Aiken), sets out to find and kill his father for destroying his mother's life. But his aims are frustrated by the troublesome, sexy, and hilarious Susan (Aubrey Plaza), whose connection to Henry predates even his arrival in the lives of the Grim family. A funny, sad, and seductive adventure, Ned Rifle is an intellectually stimulating and compassionate satire. 

  


  DIOR & I 
Dior & I  Movie PosterThe film takes an intimate, vérité-style glimpse at the inner workings of the Dior atelier, capturing the entire eight-week process up until the premiere of Simons’ collection. This includes the little-seen atelier workers – the heart and soul of the fashion industry – some of whom have sewed for Dior for decades and do so with an unbridled passion. Together, they form a support system for Simons and help to create his masterpiece collection, with every line they sketch and bead they sew.
A whirlwind of creativity, stress, determination and triumph, the movie boasts mass and niche appeal. 

 



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