We asked our three Sundance
correspondents (Nick Allen, Monica Castillo and Brian Tallerico) to pick their
four favorite performances from this year’s fest, presented here in
alphabetical order.

Casey Affleck in “Manchester by the Sea”

Casey Affleck comes packaged with a
chip on his shoulder, his small frame sometimes used for an underdog
(“Gone Baby Gone“) or a coward (“The Assassination of Jesse
James by the Coward Robert Ford”). It’s the implementation that often
matters most with such a potent actor, of which Kenneth Lonergan’s
“Manchester by the Sea” gives Affleck what could very likely be the
role of his career, a piece of poetry that Affleck expresses with emotional
exactitude. Aside from the sadness he bears with him for the ghosts felt in the
title location, Affleck’s character Lee can also be funny when bonding with
his nephew (Lucas Hedges). Affleck enriches both traits, and creates a full human. With that context,
“Manchester by the Sea” excels by focusing on the silence, something
that Lonergan’s gradual pacing presents in pieces, but Affleck’s performance fully
details. His charisma is immediate and fascinating, like Clint Eastwood in his
quieter moments. For the profound trauma that “Manchester by the Sea”
orchestrates for characters in flashbacks, Affleck is able to internalize all
of it, embodying the horrific silence of a person with nothing left to
say. (NA)

Ruba Blal in “Sand Storm”

The atrocity of “Sand
Storm” can be felt in this performance by Ruba Blal’s matriarch
Jalila, who is not surprised by the infuriating events of this film about a
farcical patriarchy. Her character’s daughter, Layla, is appalled her father
Suliman won’t let her marry the man she wants, and instead Layla has to marry a
man decided for her. Suliman himself has just married a second bride after
Jalila, and Blal’s character was there to set up the bed for marriage
consummation, afraid of being a bad host. With
a disturbing stoic nature, Blal shows a woman who resigns herself to a purpose
beyond free will. In her best scenes, she has resigned so much to this harmful
patriarchy that she chides Suliman to “be a man,” enacting an order
that would by reflex further dehumanize her. It’s a fascinating supporting role
told with a very subtle strength, using that power to show a harrowing
resignation. (NA)

Laura Dern in “Certain Women”

In a movie filled with sublime performances, perhaps Laura
Dern’s was overshadowed by Kristen Stewart’s burger chopping and Lily
Gladstone’s achingly quiet rejection. In “Certain Women,” Dern plays a
beleaguered lawyer with a crumbling relationship and a troublesome client.
What’s remarkable about the many women of Kelly Reichardt’s films is how
low-key they are. They don’t stand out in a room; they just are in the space
they’re in. But in Dern’s case, she has the most dynamic cry to be recognized
as her lover prepares to leave her and her client will only listen to another
man’s opinion. None of the women in these vignettes are given a conclusive end,
and perhaps it is that lack of an end hurts the most. Dern’s character will
continue to be drowned out for what seems like the rest of her days. (MC)

Dylan Gelula in
“First Girl I Loved”

The delicate nature of first love is captured in Kerem
Sanga’s breakthrough Audience Award-winner from this year’s NEXT program, but
it’s Gelula’s performance that grounds the piece in something believable and
even triumphant. One of the things I really love about Sanga’s film is that it
doesn’t portray Anne’s first love with Sasha (an equally great Brianna
Hildebrand) as an after-school, coming-to-terms-with sexuality. She’s not
confused about how she feels, just unsure how to express it and uncertain how
those around her will respond to it. Gelula gives a confident, brave
performance, conveying Anne’s intelligence and warmth in a way that makes her
feel completely three-dimensional. It’s a star-making turn. (BT)

Royalty Hightower in “The
Fits”

The pint-sized power house knocked it out of the park with
her leading role in “The Fits.” Hightower plays a tough girl with a sensitive
soul named Toni, who longs to fit in one of the rec center groups where her brother
trains at. Hightower is a stellar athlete and emanates the sensitivity needed
for her character’s internal struggle to fit in. Toni is shy among the other
girls, but you can tell she’s comfortable in the boxing ring that will only see
her as a little girl. While balancing Toni’s needs, Hightower never loses her
character’s childish nature, whether it’s by goofing off with friends or
playing pranks on them. It’s a sweet performance for any actor, and Hightower
owns it. (MC)

Nate Parker in The Birth of a Nation

As the passionate preacher Nat Turner, Parker embodies both
a Messiah-like complex and a sensitive side that wants justice for the generations
of his family who were taken away by the slave trade. His is a just anger, and
we watch as Turner faced abuse in different ways over the years. Parker stands
behind his characterization with conviction. Turner was a God-fearing man who
felt he had been called upon to lead a revolution, and Parker walks his
audiences through the paces of how he got there. You may not like or approve of
what Turner did, but you’ll hear about his legacy in a way perhaps not
taught by your middle school history teacher. (MC)

Alex Ross Perry in Joshy

Aside from directing films like
Listen Up Philip” and “Queen of Earth,” Alex Ross Perry
has made sporadic on-screen appearances in various indie projects, his biggest
venture yet in “Joshy.” In the relatively simple comedy of which he
is just one of the friends gathering for a revelatory weekend, Perry
excels with his strange dialogue delivery and immediate sense of offbeat
character as the square of the group, creating a unique comic presence in a
pool of albeit less distinct dudes. For anyone unfamiliar with his raspy voice
and slouched demeanor, he’s a revelation of sorts, one that could do enhance more comedies. Either way, in such a funny film with seasoned comedians like
Nick Kroll, Brett Gelman, Jenny Slate and Adam Pally, Perry is the
scene-stealer who get the biggest laughs of all. (NA)

Daniel
Radcliffe in Swiss Army Man

Yes, the former Harry Potter plays the dead guy in the
Daniels’ controversial competition film, a movie that went from stories of
walk-outs at its premiere to winning Best Director on awards night. Radcliffe
plays Manny, a guy who washes ashore on a deserted island occupied by Paul Dano’s
Hank. Whether or not Hank is hallucinating, Radcliffe is tasked with giving a daringly physical performance that ultimately
transitions into a strikingly moving one. Manny may be the dead guy,
but Radcliffe portrays him with such a wonder about life and the many wonders
it holds that he gives Hank a reason to live. Radcliffe’s performance is nearly
Dogme in its restrictions and yet he finds ways to convey pure emotion through
the odd circumstances of his character. It’s an unforgettable performance. (BT)

Narges Rashidi
in “Under the Shadow”

A thematic counterpart to Essie Davis’ brilliant performance in “The Babadook,” which premiered at Sundance two years ago, Narges Rashidi’s
work in “Under the Shadow” mines a similar vein of maternal horror but with a
cultural twist. Rashidi plays a woman who has been forced back into the role of
mother by a society in 1988 Iran that won’t allow her to continue at medical
school. And so her disappointment at losing that dream combined with insecurity
about her motherhood abilities plays into the character when, well, the supernatural
intervenes. Rashidi is in nearly every scene in the film, and she brilliantly
refuses to play her character as a damsel-in-distress. She is a fighter, a
survivor in a country torn apart by war that doesn’t really see her strength
as an asset. (BT)

Jack Reynor in Sing Street

Jack Reynor’s charismatic performance in John Carney’s
latest musical sneaks up on you. At first, he’s just the comic relief, the
older brother character who talks about how people who listen to Genesis are
lame and teaches his younger brother the importance of Joe Jackson and Duran
Duran. He’s almost like the Lester Bangs of “Sing Street” for the first two
acts, but then Carney hands over some of the emotional reins to Reynor in the
closing scenes and the young actor simply takes off. He becomes the symbol of
all the men and women who once dreamed of breaking out of their one-note towns
to become something else, but had to pass that dream onto another. There are multiple great performances in “Sing Street” that will
be underrated because of the “fun” nature of the film (Lucy Boynton gives
another) but Reynor is the one who I suspect will use this as a launch pad to
stardom. (BT)

Craig Robinson in Morris From America

Never while watching “The Office” did you think Craig
Robinson could play a tough but understanding father figure. In “Morris From
America,” Robinson matches his comic chops to a sense of responsibility as the
main character’s widowed dad. Working in Germany and struggling to make amends
with his teenage son, you really get a sense that he’s trying to make the best
of cultural alienation and the loss of his wife. Robinson is behind some of the
movie’s most poignant moments, but true to his on-screen persona, quickly
deflects sentimentality with a handy quip. 
The father and son relationship at the heart of “Morris From America” is
so refreshing, it makes the quizzical side love story almost negligible. (MC)

Tika Sumpter in “Southside with You”

Before filming her part as Michelle Robinson on her first date with future-president Barack Obama, actress Tika Sumpter had what
I imagine to be one of the most daunting tasks for any actor. Fulfill a
character that can sufficiently walk and talk, and give her a sense of
agency—but don’t lean too hard on the awe of this human being, who happens to
be one of the most important Americans who ever lived. Sumpter manages this
acting task with grade-A delicacy, elevating the premise to become more than a
novelty story with a flesh-and-blood portrayal of an icon. Most importantly,
when her character stands up to the future President of the United States about
the respect she fights for as a black woman in the workplace, it does not
happen on a soapbox, but from an incredible performance with feet
planted firmly on the ground. (NA)

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