Seattlest at Sundance: Final Cut Pro

On Thursday, we saw a final two films at Sundance before getting the hell out of Dodge Utah. First up was Adam, an unconventional love story that was flying way under the festival radar until it sold to Fox Searchlight late Monday night.

Writer-director Max Meyer has crafted a tender and wistful film about the title character, a cute, wide-eyed, outer-space-obsessed twenty-nine-year-old man who happens to have Asperger's. It's delicate in its treatment of the syndrome, as well as the romance that develops between Adam (Hugh Dancy) and his new neighbor, Beth (Rose Byrne). Adam is a charming, unexpectedly moving film, and Meyer pulls no punches. Just like all of us, Adam has a deep desire for connection and intimacy, independent of his condition.

Our last film of the fest was Unmade Beds, a British flick in the style of L'Auberge Espagnole. In a London art space/communal loft, young people move in and out, crashing on mattresses where they can. The film focuses on the storylines of two of the squatters: Axl, from Madrid who is trying to track down his absentee father (when he's not having drunken blackouts), and Vera, a French girl trying to get over her ex (when she's not still thinking about him). Alexis Dos Santos infuses the film with playful direction, and lots of music and energy, including several live performances by indie British bands. But ultimately, we were a lot more interested in Vera's story than Axl's. Hell, we were more interested in all the other goings-on in the apartment than poor, boring Axl.

As to the festival itself, it was delightfully more low-key than in previous years (last year in particular was ridiculously overcrowded). The economic downturn kept the yahoos away, the industry asshole numbers down, and the movie tickets relatively readily available. But it is more than a little disconcerting to see Main Street looking like something out of 28 Days Later--in past years, it was perpetually crowded, day or night. Thankfully we didn't run into Mike Tyson, nor the Real Housewives of Atlanta's Kim Zolciak (whom we find equally terrifying). This year really was about the movies, and for that we are grateful. Sundance, we love you, and we'll see you next year.