With Sundance Film Festival less than a month away, we’ve got some new images of dramas set to premiere in Park City. First up, above one can see January Jones in the western-tinged drama Sweetwater, coming from brothers Logan Miller and Noah Miller. In quite a different role for the Mad Men actress, she joins Ed Harris, Jason Isaacs, Eduardo Noriega, Steven Rude and Amy Madigan, and one can see a full synopsis below.
Against the backdrop of the American Old West, newlyweds Luke and Sarah struggle to make a living cultivating their small patch of land. Soon a much bigger struggle arises as powerful landowner and community preacher Cole makes a play for their property. As he launches his diabolical plot to take their land, an eccentric big-city sheriff comes to town. Things soon go from bad to worse, culminating in a jaw-dropping, hell-hath-no-fury showdown.
Sweetwater boldly establishes its own identity while remaining true to the tenets of the western genre. Wonderfully cinematic, this expressive tale is superbly directed by the Miller brothers, who extract strong performances from the ensemble cast. Ed Harris is especially striking in a bravura role as the sheriff. With the magnificent New Mexico countryside as their canvas, the Miller brothers imaginatively stroke their cinematic brush across an intense but humorous film.
Above we can all see Sam Rockwell and co-star Liam James in a new still from the directorial debut of The Descendants screenwriters and Oscar winners Nat Faxon and Jim Rash, titled The Way, Way Back. While there isn’t much more revealed compared to our first image, one can see an extended synopsis below for the film also starring Steve Carell, Toni Collette, Allison Janney and Maya Rudolph.
The Way, Way Back tells the story of 14-year-old Duncan’s awkward, funny, and sometimes painful summer vacation with his mother, Pam, her overbearing boyfriend, Trent, and his daughter, Steph. Although Duncan has a tough time fitting in and finding his place, he does find an unlikely ally and mentor in Owen, a carefree employee at the local water park where Duncan gets a job. Over the course of the summer, as his mother drifts further away, Duncan—with encouragement from Owen—begins to open up and come into his own.’
Mining the caverns of human vulnerability for the humor necessary to make life bearable, first-time directors Nat Faxon and Jim Rash have transformed their terrific screenplay into a bittersweet comedy that is both charming and insightful. Boasting an extraordinary ensemble of some of the most revered actors working today, as well as a young actor destined to join their ranks, The Way, Way Back brims with nostalgia for the magical time of adolescence, as well as the great coming-of-age films of the eighties that captured its wide-eyed confusion and wonder.
We’ve also got a new image of Felicity Jones and Guy Pearce in Breathe In, the next drama from Like Crazy director Drake Doremus. Coupled with our first look, this still reveals that the film make have bleaker palette compared to Doremus’ last Sundance winner. Amy Ryan also stars in the film alongside Mackenzie Davis, who just booked a role alongside Zac Efron, Imogen Poots and Miles Teller in Tom Gormican‘s upcoming indie rom-com Are We Officially Dating?, according to Variety. Perhaps this will indeed be her break-out and one can see an extended synopsis below.
As summer turns to fall, music teacher Keith Reynolds privately reminisces about his days as a starving artist in the city. While his wife, Megan, and daughter, Lauren, look forward to Lauren’s final year of high school, Keith clings to those evenings he’s asked to sub as a cellist with a prestigious Manhattan symphony. When Megan decides the family should host foreign exchange student Sophie, the British high school senior soon rekindles an impetuous aspect of Keith’s personality.
Drake Doremus, winner of the 2011 Sundance Grand Jury Prize for Like Crazy, reunites with actress Felicity Jones and cowriter Ben York Jones for this passionate ensemble drama of family dysfunction. Ditching the hand-held aesthetic of his past works, Doremus conceives a grander story of love and heartache, only heightened by his lead character’s symphonic avocation, while maintaining his keen eye for intimate performance.
Sundance Film Festival kicks off on January 17th, 2013.