FilmSnobReviews

Title: Nancy
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Director: Christina Choe
Starring: Andrea Riseborough, Steve Buscemi, Ann Dowd
Runtime: 1 hr 27 mins

What It Is: Nancy Freeman (Riseborough) is kind of an enigma. She pretends to be pregnant to flirt with a grieving father named Jeb (John Leguizamo). When her mother Betty (Dowd) passes she notices a news report about a missing girl that looks, through time-lapse photography, exactly like Nancy. She calls the grieving mother Ellen (J. Smith-Cameron) and her husband Leo (Buscemi) with the news that she may be their long-lost daughter. The news they’ve waited almost 30 years to hear. 

What We Think: Andrea Riseborough is utterly magnificent here. Her performance is much like the film really understated and incredibly good. Thematically the films central themes are nailed perfectly. Choe does a good job remaining somewhat transparent behind the lens. Buscemi and Smith-Cameron break your heart throughout this. You feel for them. Look at HOW the film is shot you notice a darkness to the frames as the film moves along. John Leguizamo plays a small role but even in his small moments, he’s fantastic. Narratively it all seems to fall into place just as it should. The story is believable and helped by the realistic performances and Choe direction.

Our Grade: B+, I didn’t know what to expect from this. What I got was an excellent film at the Las Vegas Film Festival. One that I can recommend rather highly. Good luck finding it as it’s currently in limited release. If you do manage to see it at a theater nearby it’s one you’ll enjoy. From the beginning until the film’s conclusion you’re not quite sure what the truth is. Likewise, character decision will leave you asking even more questions about human existence and the fragility of the human psyche.