MVFF47 - RSVP Guide

This exuberant, unconventional musical biopic of singer Robbie Williams blends extravagant song-and-dance sequences with a frank portrayal of the demons that accompanied his rise to worldwide acclaim.

Two decades before Harry Styles, there was Robbie Williams drawing the map Styles followed from boy-band fame to solo superstardom. This exuberant musical biopic charts Williams’ journey as a child raised to worship at the altar of Frank Sinatra who finds his own voice first as a teenager with Take That and later as a solo artist. No hagiography, the drama frankly portrays the addictions and demons that accompany Williams’ rise to acclaim as well as the impostor syndrome that vividly manifests as he performs. The Greatest Showman director Michael Gracey’s sophomore feature contrasts Williams’ personal struggles with the absolute joy of his music, adding to the mix of recording sessions, club dates, and arena shows, extravagant and irresistible song-and-dance sequences. But the film’s biggest strengths are in its unconventional approach to an artist’s life and Jonno Davies’ soulful, cheeky, and self-lacerating performance that proves he is, indeed, a “better man,” as is Williams himself.

Oscar®-winning film editor William Goldenberg makes an indelible directing debut with this thrilling underdog sports drama focused on the life of wrestler Anthony Robles. Jharrel Jerome (Moonlight, MVFF39; I’m a Virgo) stars as Robles, introduced as a high school senior whose record ought to have college wrestling programs scrambling to recruit him. But the teen was born with one leg and the wrestling powerhouses passed on him. Ultimately, he chooses to walk on at Arizona State University and compete for a non-scholarship spot. Balancing wrestling, school, a job in airplane maintenance, and support of his younger siblings and mother (Jennifer Lopez) as she navigates an abusive relationship with his prison-guard stepfather (Bobby Cannavale) is a challenge, but Robles strives to attain his goal to not just wrestle but win a national championship. Michael Peña and Don Cheadle offer empathetic support as his coaches in an electrifying film that, like its hero, has the heart of a champion.

While searching on Facebook for her estranged father, a young woman finds a man (John Leguizamo) with the same name, a caring father figure, who also could use a friend.

An accidental connection blossoms into a loving father-daughter-like relationship in writer-director Tracie Laymon’s gentle and deeply personal feature debut. Upbeat Lily (Barbie Ferreira) strives to please everyone around her, including her narcissistic, deeply disinterested father Robert Trevino (French Stewart), a jerk who blames his daughter for everything wrong in his life and ghosts her. In desperate need of a real friend, Lily finds one when she discovers a different Bob Trevino (John Leguizamo) while searching for her estranged dad on Facebook. This Bob is the opposite of her difficult parent: a decent, ethical, and warm married man who could use a new friend himself. Ferreira and Leguizamo are wonderful together; their vulnerable performances touch the heart in a winning film that reminds us that the spontaneous bonds we make can be sometimes far more enriching and loving than the family ties we’ve been assigned.

Expected In Person Guest