Don’t Miss Indies: What to Watch in May
It’s not technically summer yet, but May is usually when things start to heat up– both outside and at the movie theater. After the earlier frenzy of awards season, moviegoers can expect a more robust release schedule, with May being the official start of summer blockbuster season. While this May’s movies include the standard fare of superheroes and the eighth and final reckoning of an iconic action franchise, they also showcase a diverse slate of indie counter-programming, including horror, comedy, and romance. Read on to see which independent films we’re excited to watch in May.
HURRY UP TOMORROW
When You Can Watch: May 16
Where you Can Watch: Theaters
Director: Trey Edward Shults Cast: The Weeknd, Jenna Ortega, Barry Keoghan
Why We’re Excited: One of the most exciting things about director Trey Edward Shults, a John Cassavetes Award winner at the Film Independent Spirit Awards, is that he keeps you on your toes. Whether it’s the taut, unsettling drama of his breakout Krisha, the emotional fallout of his aptly named Waves, or the psychological horror of It Comes At Night, Shults has a penchant for setting us on edge. These talents are on full display in the trailer for his latest, a psychological horror called Hurry Up Tomorrow. Produced by and starring Abel Tesfaye, aka The Weeknd, the film is a companion piece to his album of the same name, and is heavily influenced by Abel’s own experiences as a megastar musician. It follows a fictionalized version of the pop star ‘on the verge of a breakdown’, sending him on a dark odyssey exploring fame and identity. If the mind- bending visuals, intriguing premise, and disturbing tone of the trailer don’t sell you, the buzzy cast will. Modern scream queen Jenna Ortega stars opposite Tesfaye, and Barry Keoghan’s presence exudes the potential for another wild performance like the one he blessed us with in Saltburn. With all this musical and movie talent on display, Hurry Up Tomorrow looks like a deranged mind trip worth the journey.
FRIENDSHIP
When You Can Watch: May 9 (limited), May 23 (wide)
Where you Can Watch: Theaters
Director: Andrew DeYoung
Cast: Paul Rudd, Tim Robinson, Kate Mara
Why We’re Excited: There’s already one great comedy movie about male friendship starring Paul Rudd, but we can always use another. In fact, Indiewire described this film as ‘I Love You Man for sickos’, which is a pretty great elevator pitch. Friendship adds Tim Robinson’s discomfiting brand of humor to the mix, while director Andrew DeYoung’s work on shows like Pen15 means there will be plenty of awkwardness to go around. Paul Rudd plays a magnetic next-door-neighbor and de-facto leader of a group of guys, who takes Tim Robinson’s off-putting loner under his wing. Rudd, who still has the boyish looks and charm to make any film more ebullient, appears to play against his perpetual nice guy type here. As implied in the trailer’s menacing undertones, he soon sours on Robinson, making room for the comedian’s singular ability to make everyone uncomfortable as he relentlessly stalks the group, trying to figure out why they rejected him. Not enough films explore male friendship or its breakup, and not enough theatrical releases these days include comedies. As fun as it is to watch Robinson go all-in on a joke in his TV gems Detroiters or I Think You Should Leave, there’s just something about the collective experience of laughing with an audience in the theater. Even though Tim’s character tries to convince his wife to see the ‘new Marvel movie’ in the trailer, the cast and concept for this theatrical comedy have us sold on Friendship.
BRING HER BACK
When You Can Watch: May 30
Where you Can Watch: Theaters
Director: Danny Philippou, Michael Philippou
Cast: Sally Hawkins, Billy Barratt
Why We’re Excited: Bring Her Back is the sophomore effort from the Australian directing duo of last year’s breakout Talk To Me, which became A24’s highest grossing horror film to date. Like their successful directorial debut, this film looks to be another visually evocative, terrifying descent into the supernatural consequences of death and grief. While the trailer wisely keeps much of the plot veiled in mystery, the title implies a desire to commune with the dead, a recurring theme for the Philippou brothers. They’ve called this film a ‘spiritual successor’ to Talk To Me, in which the severed, embalmed hand provided a clever new construct to explore supernatural possession. While Talk To Me centered on a grieving young woman looking for answers about her mother’s death, Bring Her Back focuses on a pair of siblings who encounter frightening rituals at the home of their new foster mother, played by Academy Award and Spirit Award nominee Sally Hawkins. The trailer alone makes for some of the creepiest cinematic imagery we’ve seen this year, not least the close up of a determined finger tracing a foreboding circle over and over again on a child’s shaved head. While Talk To Me was a confident first step into unflinching horror, Bring Her Back should cement the filmmakers as a terrifying presence in the genre for years to come.
SWAMP DOGG GETS HIS POOL PAINTED
When You Can Watch: May 2nd
Where you Can Watch: Theaters
Director: Isaac Gale, Ryan Olson
Cast: Jerry “Swamp Dogg” Williams, David “Guitar Shorty” Kearney, Larry “Moogstar” Clemon
Why We’re Excited: You might never have heard of Little Jerry Williams, Swamp Dogg, or any of the other monikers Jerry Williams Jr. has given himself over his long and storied career, but our programmer’s pick Swamp Dogg Gets His Pool Painted finally puts him in the spotlight . A singer, songwriter, and producer who got his start in 1954, Jerry Williams Jr. has been making music since he was 12. His pseudonym Swamp Dogg came about when he decided to combine the idea of ‘swamp music’ —funk music played by white musicians influenced by black R&B artists— with the lovable ‘everyman’ persona of a dog. This was before Snoop Dogg was even born, making him the ‘original D-O-double G’. Despite producing a number of hits for iconic acts and being instrumental in the formation of the ‘World Class Wrecking’ CRU, Swamp Dogg never achieved mainstream fame. This is exactly what makes him the perfect subject for a documentary— he’s an eccentric talent with a story still to be told. Using psychedelic font, low-fi footage, and other eclectic touches to showcase the cult icon, this a music documentary like no other. It showcases Swamp Dogg’s house in the San Fernando valley of Los Angeles, where he’s built an artistic haven with roommates and fellow musicians, Guitar Shorty and Moogstar. This is a story as much about their professional legacies as it is about their personal history of friendship and endurance in an unforgiving industry.
JANE AUSTEN WRECKED MY LIFE
When You Can Watch: May 23
Where you Can Watch: Select Theaters
Director: Laura Piani
Cast: Camille Rutherford, Charlie Anson, Pablo Pauly
Why We’re Excited: If the title is any indication, Jane Austen Wrecked My Life is a witty, meta refresher on a timeless love story. When pondering how a famous author who wrote about women and romance could ruin someone’s life, we’d bet all our copies of Pride and Prejudice it has something to do with the unrealistic expectations her books give fans in today’s turbulent dating age. The charming trailer features Agathe, a book seller and self-anointed Jane Austen stan, who gets the opportunity to workshop her book pages at the ‘Jane Austen Residency’. While there, she meets the ‘great great great great great… nephew’ of Jane Austen, who, of all worst ways he could make a first impression, tells our heroine he thinks his famous relative’s work is ‘over-rated’. It’s a classic Elizabeth Bennet/Mr. Darcy meet cute. She thinks he’s the worst, he’s intrigued by her… and they will surely bicker a lot more before they realize all that tension between them is actually the good kind. The film builds to a love triangle in which our heroine’s best friend shows up unexpectedly, dressed as Mr. Darcy, in an attempt to finally woo her, just as Agathe and her literary hero’s great great great great nephew start to realize their feelings for each other. Set at a bucolic writer’s retreat, it’s the kind of wish-fulfillment, romantic escapism perfect for summer.
OVERCOMPENSATING
When You Can Watch: May 15
Where you Can Watch: Amazon Prime
Creator: Benito Skinner
Cast: Connie Britton, Benito Skinner, Kyle MacLachlan, Adam DiMarco
Why We’re Excited: This TV show from A24 and Amazon Prime was developed by star Benito Skinner, known for his online persona ‘Benny Drama’, of Instagram and TikTok fame. While he gained traction online doing celebrity impressions and creating original characters like Jenni the Hairdresser, the show is based on his sold-out performance of ‘Overcompensating’ at the New York Comedy Festival. It explores the trials and tribulations of a closeted high school football star’s first year at college, as he befriends an outsider named Carmen. Given that his work is firmly rooted in pop culture, it’s no wonder the show is stacked with guest stars like Charlie XCX, Megan Fox, Lukas Gage, Bowen Yang, and James Van Der Beek. Skinner, who came out his senior year of college, probably knows a thing or two about navigating freshman year anxiety, sexuality, and relationships. The trailer includes a funny moment where he refers to the sound he and a fellow jock made while ogling women as ‘bird calls’, indicating some of the ‘overcompensating’ the title refers to. A self-aware, coming-of-age comedy like this is the kind of crushable show made for summer Fridays.
THE PHOENICIAN SCHEME
When You Can Watch: May 30
Where you Can Watch: Theaters
Director: Wes Anderson
Cast: Benicio del Toro, Scarlett Johansson, Bill Murray, Tom Hanks, Michael Cera
Why We’re Excited: Singular director Wes Anderson is back with another quirky romp in his signature, visual style. His latest stars Benicio del Toro as Zsa-zsa Korda, ‘one of the richest men in Europe’, so naturally, everyone is trying to kill him. Despite having nine sons, he appoints his only daughter Liesl, played by Mia Threapleton (looking more and more like her mother Kate Winslet every day) sole heir to his estate. Father and daughter soon become the target of various assassins, tycoons, and terrorists in this globe-trotting, espionage-infused comedy. Adding to the absurdity is the fact that Liesl is a nun, and one highlight of the trailer includes her blessing an assassin with holy water in an elevator after he’s caught and takes a cyanide pill to escape questioning. In true Wes Anderson fashion, the sets look like small worlds unto themselves, the trailer has no shortage of witty one-liners, and even the violence retains a farcical quality. As with any of his films, it also includes a star-studded cast longer than a CVS receipt. When combined with his stunning cinematography and wry humor, it’s guaranteed to be a good time.
LILLY
When You Can Watch: May 9
Where you Can Watch: Select Theaters
Director: Rachel Feldman
Cast: Patricia Clarkson, Josh Lucas, Josh McDermitt
Why We’re Excited: Based on a true story, Lilly focuses on real life fair pay activist, Lilly Ledbetter. An Alabama tire factor worker, Lilly was cheated out of fair pay after twenty years with the company, getting paid half the salary the men were. As she takes her fight all the way to the Supreme Court, the trailer makes the point that it’s not just about what Lilly’s owed; it’s about how companies across the country take advantage of their workers. This makes the film feel particularly relevant, as the working class continues to struggle. Writer, director, and producer Rachel Feldman is also an activist for women behind the camera. She participated in Geena Davis’s documentary This Changes Everything, which examines sexism in Hollywood, and was a former chair of the DGA Women’s Steering Committee, focusing on supporting and uplifting women in the industry. Starring acting powerhouse Patricia Clarkson, a Film Independent Spirit Award nominee for her performance in High Art, edited by Film Independent member Joan Sobel, and executive produced by Member Jayne Baron Sherman, Lilly is about a fight everyone can get behind.
MOUNTAINHEAD
When You Can Watch: May 31
Where you Can Watch: Streaming on Max
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Cast: Ramy Youssef, Cory Michael Smith, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Why We’re Excited: Succession fans rejoice. Series creator Jesse Armstrong makes his feature directorial debut with Mountainhead, which looks to be another pitch black comedy about the billionaire class. This time, we’re following four wealthy friends who gather at one of their group’s snowy mountain cabin. The guys, led by comedic heavyweight Steve Carrell, are all rich as sin, but some of them have more of a conscience about it than others. Of course, can you really have a conscience when there’s no such thing as an ethical billionaire? The remote snowy locale provides a haven as they drink and snowmobile and play poker, even as news of a disastrous financial crisis affecting the outside world reaches them. There are hints that at least one of the group is responsible for the mess, creating a pressure cooker situation that hopefully reaches the kind of emotional boiling point that made Succession an Emmy- winning hit. The trailer has shades of the apocalypse, with god-like figures of wealth and power arguing atop a mountain, deciding our fates from on high while we suffer down below. But will any of these über rich pay for what they’ve done? If art is anything like life, we know they rarely do.
KEY
Film Independent Fellow or Member
Film Independent Presents Screening, Q&A
Microbudget
Filmmaker or Lead Characters of Color
Film Independent Spirit Award Winner or Nominee
Female Filmmaker
LGBT Filmmaker or Lead LGBT Characters
First-time Filmmaker
LA Film Festival Winner or Nominee
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