Black Bear

Blair (Sarah Gadon) and Gabe (Christopher Abbott) are a married couple who move from the city to a remote area. They are trying to rebuild their fragile relationship. Everything changes when Allison (Aubrey Plaza), a burned-out director, comes to see them in search of a subject for a new movie. Like in the films of Cassavetes and Polański, the tension that arises among the three protagonists has an undercurrent of desire and passion, while also making clear the sudden need to discharge built-up emotions. The tension reaches its peak when the director suddenly shuffles the cards and casts the same actors in different roles: this time as the makers of a film whose plot resembles what we saw in the first part of the film. However, the last day of shooting results in a series of unforeseen events. Levine is asking more questions than he’s answering, but his obvious firsthand experience of the frenetic energy and escalating stress on a low-budget film shoot lends an air of authenticity to the unfolding events, wrote Hollywood Reporter after the film’s premiere at Sundance.