We’re dragged through the streets of London as Lara (Laura Jean Marsh) and Daniel (Jamal Franklin) are rushing to make it from one debaucherous romp to the next. An all too familiar scene for those of us barely tickling 21 in the early aughts and perhaps something we’d mostly like to forget. The story turns tragically dark and we’re left to deal with the fallout of a lifestyle that’s never meant to last.

Set to leave for Paris, Scott (Ben Platt, Politician and Pitch Perfect) can’t wait for the rest of his life to begin. A budding novelist stuck in his home town slinging drinks as a waiter, this literal ticket out of town is the catalyst he needs. Then he gets a call, his dad has died and the fall out isn’t just having to take care of the family estate. His sister Cindy (Lola Kirke, Gone Girl) has schizophrenia and Scott is the last relative that has any ability to care for her. Does he take the trip of a lifetime, live in Paris and work on his dream or stay back to make sure his sister is ok. This struggle throws his life into chaos in a way he was never prepared for.

Jamie New has never felt ordinary, and fitting in with the rest of the kids wasn’t a priority but it wasn’t easy to go to school every day feeling like an outsider. Dreaming of becoming a performer, a star, is a desire he’s always known and can’t seem to live without and he’s just waiting to get out of high school to burst onto the drag scene. Based on the very real story of a kid wanting to be more than he is but finding resistance at every turn, this is the third in a line of productions based on his life starting with a television show, evolving into a broadway play and (maybe) finishing with this movie. The story is so universal every iteration is a success, including the film, so why keep telling it? It’s uplifting, we all want to feel like we belong and we’ve found a place, a thing and avocation that calls to us… helps us to feel comfortable in our own skin. This one hits the spot.

It made me feel like my head was going to explode while also putting my mind at ease once it settled into what it really wanted to be. It is full speed ahead and Wan is the maniac in the driver’s seat taking us off the cliff.

An incredible calling card of a feature debut, Small Engine Repair is a remarkably well-written and acted character study of three deeply flawed men trying to reconnect with each other. 

Set with the gorgeous backdrop of Appalachia all around them, The Evening Hour is an indictment on how little opportunity and a lot of desperation can push a man to thing he never would have considered otherwise. Cole (Philip Ettinger, First Reformed) was born and raised in a small town destroyed by corporate greed and coal mining and living day to day the best he can. An orderly at the local senior home, he also makes ends meet by selling opiates around town. We’re immediately drawn to him for his good deeds around town: bringing groceries to elderly locals, giving cash to his grandmother, but he’s still part of a system that creates and keeps folks addicted.