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What stands out first about Evelyn is the confidence with which Bruce Beresford establishes its drama identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Evelyn asks Pierce Brosnan and Julianna Margulies to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Evelyn is established with useful clarity: Desmond's wife leaves him and their 3 kids after Christmas 1953. That direct approach lets Evelyn use its 1h 34m running time for character, atmosphere and consequence. ⁠ Eve

What stands out first about Bollywood/Hollywood is the confidence with which Deepa Mehta establishes its comedy identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Bollywood/Hollywood asks Rahul Khanna and Moushumi Chatterjee to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Bollywood/Hollywood is established with useful clarity: A wealthy East Indian man gives an apparently non East Indian woman a crash course in his culture, so he can marry her with his family's ap

What stands out first about Ararat is the confidence with which Atom Egoyan establishes its war drama identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Ararat asks Charles Aznavour and Brent Carver to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Ararat is established with useful clarity: Interrogated by a customs officer, a young man recounts how his life was changed during the making of a film about the Armenian genocide. That direct approach lets Ararat use its

What stands out first about Nicholas Nickleby is the confidence with which Douglas McGrath establishes its romance identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Nicholas Nickleby asks Charlie Hunnam and Jamie Bell to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Nicholas Nickleby is established with useful clarity: A young, compassionate man struggles to save his family and friends from the abusive exploitation of his cold heartedly grasping uncle. That direct

What stands out first about Spider is the confidence with which David Cronenberg establishes its thriller identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Spider asks Ralph Fiennes and Miranda Richardson to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Spider is established with useful clarity: A mentally disturbed man takes residence in a halfway house. That direct approach lets Spider use its 1h 38m running time for character, atmosphere and consequence. ⁠ What

What stands out first about Standing in the Shadows of Motown is the confidence with which Paul Justman establishes its documentary identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Standing in the Shadows of Motown asks Joe Hunter and Jack Ashford to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Standing in the Shadows of Motown is established with useful clarity: Documentary about the Funk Brothers, a group of Detroit musicians who backed up dozens of Motown art

What stands out first about L'odyssée d'Alice Tremblay is the confidence with which Denise Filiatrault establishes its comedy identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, L'odyssée d'Alice Tremblay asks Sophie Lorain and Martin Drainville to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of L'odyssée d'Alice Tremblay is established with useful clarity: After reading a bedtime story to her daughter, Alice Tremblay leaves her daughter's room and enters her own fair

What stands out first about The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys is the confidence with which Peter Care establishes its comedy identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys asks Kieran Culkin and Jena Malone to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys is established with useful clarity: A group of Catholic school friends, after being caught drawing an obscene comic book, plan a heist that w

What stands out first about Auto Focus is the confidence with which Paul Schrader establishes its crime drama identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Auto Focus asks Greg Kinnear and Willem Dafoe to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Auto Focus is established with useful clarity: The life of TV star Bob Crane and his strange friendship with electronics expert John Henry Carpenter. That direct approach lets Auto Focus use its 1h 45m running tim

What stands out first about Raising Victor Vargas is the confidence with which Peter Sollett establishes its romance identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Raising Victor Vargas asks Victor Rasuk and Donna Maldonado to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Raising Victor Vargas is established with useful clarity: A Lower East Side teen ager struggles to find some sanity while surrounded by an eccentric grandmother, a crazy new girlfriend, and a

What stands out first about State Property is the confidence with which Abdul Malik Abbott establishes its action film identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, State Property asks Beanie Sigel and Omillio Sparks to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of State Property is established with useful clarity: Beans decides that the only way to grasp the American Dream is to take it. That direct approach lets State Property use its 1h 28m running time for

What stands out first about The Dancer Upstairs is the confidence with which John Malkovich establishes its thriller identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, The Dancer Upstairs asks Javier Bardem and Laura Morante to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of The Dancer Upstairs is established with useful clarity: A police detective in a South American country is dedicated to hunting down a revolutionary guerilla leader. That direct approach lets The