The 2025 Sundance Film Festival wrapped up a few weeks ago. To this writer, it was a slightly disappointing slate this year, but still, there are a handful of interesting films and names you should know about going forward.
“Obex” – Albert Birney
This one shows us a strange man no longer able to hide from his trauma within a retro lair of CRT TVs and vintage karaoke machines. The trauma first takes the form of Lynchian nightmares; eventually, it resides in the titular video game our main character Connor experiments with. Stay for the cool video game touches, old user interfaces, pixel designs and unsettling sound effects. There are also strong costume designs when Connor is eventually thrust into that video game world.
What doesn’t work as well is the trauma bit itself; it feels more overt than natural in this movie’s peculiar world. When Lynch did it, it felt like we were genuinely having a fever dream, unfortunately when others try it, it never quite fully meshes into that perfect place of the dreamlike subconscious. All that said, Obex is a really cool exercise and worth checking out; Birney’s name is certainly one worth remembering.
“Atropia” -Hailey Gates
Alia Shawkat plays a hungry actress who’s found work in a “military simulation base,” circa 2006. It’s a dynamite concept that doesn’t really take full shape but still has tons of potential. This is a filmmaker I can see really coming into herself. The aesthetics of the 2006 war lens is really solid, but it doesn’t feel realized in a way you’d hoped. There are some scenes where you feel some things clicking, but the love arc at the center feels undercooked. By the end, everything feels scattered, stretched out, and unaccomplished.
Atropia is mentioned here because of the bones of the film. It’s exciting to dream about where this young filmmaker goes from here.
“Twinless” – James Sweeney
If you were lucky enough to catch this one online before it was pulled for piracy concerns, you’d likely agree that James Sweeney’s heartfelt buddy story (with some unexpected turns) is one of the highlights of this year’s fest.
Twinless features an elevating performance from Dylan O’Brien playing both a straight identical twin and his recently deceased queer brother. While one guy playing two guys tends to not work for me, he does fine job fleshing out the lives and identities of both characters. The characters are fleshed out and very real. The portrayal of urban Portland with its startup offices, lonely apartments and drab cityscapes, embodies Spike Jonze’s Her.
Twinless also features some standout sequences of cinematography, including a split screen party scene one shot that adds to its strong arsenal of set pieces and memorable moments. Twinless is the standout for me here, and I’m looking forward to seeing what director Sweeney does next.
-Michael Archer
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