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The Big Sick proved a huge hit with attendees at this year's Sundance Film Festival, striding now towards release with a real chance of being this year's best comedy.
Directed by Michael Showalter, the film was written by both comedian Kumail Nanjiani and his wife Emily Gordon, telling the story of their real-life romance to particularly touching effect.
Nanjiani himself stars alongside Zoe Kazan (as Emily), Holly Hunter, Ray Romano, Anupam Kher, Adeel Akhtar, Zenobia Shroff, Kurt Braunohler, Bo Burnham, and Aidy Bryant.
The Big Sick sees a Pakistan-born aspiring comedian who has a one-night stand with grad student Emily after one of his shows.
However, their brief fling blossoms into something much deeper, which proves complicated for Kumail in the face of his traditional Muslim parents.
Show all 7 1 /7The films to watch out for from Sundance London 2017 The films to watch out for from Sundance London 2017 Beatriz at Dinner Beatriz (Salma Hayek) is a miracle worker—highly sensitive with her touch, and passionately dedicated to curing pain through holistic therapy. After treating the mother of a young woman Beatriz helped recover from chemotherapy, her car breaks down, so she is invited to stay for a dinner celebrating a lucrative business deal. Beatriz at Dinner is riveting, yet with an apprehensive tone. Half chamber drama, half dark dramedy of errors, director Miguel Arteta (The Good Girl, 2002 Sundance Film Festival) discerns his characters by showing their most telling reactions, such as the subliminal determination of Hayek’s face, while spinning an indelible wickedness onto this tale of a fateful encounter.
The films to watch out for from Sundance London 2017 Bushwick On the way to Grandma’s house with a new boyfriend in tow, Lucy (Brittany Snow) steps off the subway into an utter bloodbath on the streets of Brooklyn’s Bushwick neighborhood. Texas is attempting to secede from the Union, and militia forces have descended upon New York City to claim it as an East Coast base of operations and negotiation tool. Lucy takes shelter in the basement of Stupe (Dave Bautista), a burly war veteran who reluctantly helps her traverse the treacherous five-block stretch of Bushwick to reach her destination—assuming it’s still there.
The films to watch out for from Sundance London 2017 Crown Heights Writer/director Matt Ruskin, who worked closely to earn the trust of the real Colin Warner, imbues this film with a gifted touch and emotional authenticity to shed light on a painful personal story—and on a horrifying systemic issue. Anchored by Stanfield, an indie film secret weapon, Crown Heights unfolds as a powerful ode to those we leave behind.
The films to watch out for from Sundance London 2017 A Ghost Story Lauded filmmaker David Lowery, last at the Festival with the lyrical Ain’t Them Bodies Saints (2013), reunites with his collaborators for a haunted tale like no other—one conceived in secret and fueled by the spirit of pure, creative expression. Lowery's meticulously sparse narrative contemplates a spectral figure who was once a man (Casey Affleck). Prematurely taken from this Earth, he makes his way toward his former home, where he is fated to remain forevermore. Shrouded in a white sheet, he observes the lament of his grief-stricken lover (Rooney Mara). Bearing unseen witness to her pain, the wisp stands sentry for years to come, interacting only with time as it hurtles further and further forward, the remnants of his humanity quietly evaporating.
The films to watch out for from Sundance London 2017 The Incredible Jessica James Jessica James (Jessica Williams), an aspiring playwright in New York City, is trying hard to get over a recent breakup with her boyfriend. She sees light at the end of the tunnel when she meets Boone (Chris O’Dowd), who's also recovering from a recent break-up. Williams broke onto the scene as a correspondent on The Daily Show and followed that up with her hilarious podcast, 2 Dope Queens.
The films to watch out for from Sundance London 2017 The Big Sick Based on the true story of the film’s writers (and real-life couple), Emily V. Gordon and Kumail Nanjiani, this modern culture clash shows how Pakistan-born Kumail and his American girlfriend, Emily, have to overcome the expectations of his family and their 1,400-year-old traditions. As his parents relentlessly set him up with potential brides for an arranged marriage, Kumail navigates treacherous waters in the worlds of both dating and stand-up comedy. Produced by Judd Apatow, The Big Sick features a sterling collection of comedy talent in front of and behind the camera. Having acted in numerous previous Sundance Film Festival selections, Michael Showalter returns this time as a director with a hilariously insightful film that shrewdly puts the spotlight on its writer/star Kumail Nanjiani (HBO’s Silicon Valley).
The films to watch out for from Sundance London 2017 Wilson Woody Harrelson stars as Wilson, a lonely, neurotic, and hilariously honest middle-aged, misanthropic dog lover who reunites with his estranged wife (Laura Dern) and gets a shot at happiness when he learns he has a teenage daughter he’s never met. In his uniquely outrageous and slightly twisted way, Wilson sets out to connect with her in what could be his last chance at having a family. In Skeleton Twins, which won the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival, director Craig Johnson displayed a knack for finding humor and warmth in the darkest of places, which is why he was the perfect choice to bring to life this Daniel Clowes graphic novel of the same name. The writer of the Ghost World and Art School Confidential graphic novels, Clowes is a master of making the unlikable lovable. His Wilson is a bit of jerk, but a jerk who refreshes our empathy for people—in all of their imperfections.
The Big Sick will screen as part of the Sundance Film Festival: London, which runs 1-4 June. It hits UK cinemas on 28 July.
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