DVD Review: Sundance Hits with Different Results in ‘Hello I Must Be Going,’ ‘Nobody Walks’

CHICAGO – As I learned on my inaugural trip to Sundance (check out all the coverage here [14]) this year, there is common discussion as to how things will play outside of the thin mountain air of Park City. People wonder what will be the next “Beasts of the Southern Wild” or “Winter’s Bone” and what will never get the hype it gets at Sundance. Two films that peaked at Sundance 2012, “Hello I Must Be Going” and “Nobody Walks” were recently released on DVD. One is worth your time while the other never should have come off the snowy mountain.

The good news is that the 2012 Opening Night film, “Hello I Must Be Going” still works a year later. It features strong work from Melanie Lynskey, doing her best since her breakthrough with Kate Winslet in “Heavenly Creatures” and quickly allowing viewers to forget time served on “Two and a Half Men.” Lynskey stars as a woman stuck in crisis after a divorce. She lives at home with her parents and spends most of her days watching TV – without even doing any workout programs [15]. Then she meets a passionate teenager (“Girls”’ Christopher Abbott) who inspires her to come out of her shell. While the plot outline is your classic Sundance dramedy material, Lynskey really shines here. She’s fantastic and I’m increasingly convinced that Abbott will be one of the more interesting actors of his generation (his recent guest spot on “Enlightened” is the best thing he’s done to date). “Hello I Must Be Going” kind of falls apart in the final act but what comes before is strong enough to make its too-tidy resolution easier to forgive.

There’s less forgiveness when it comes to Ry Russo-Young’s awful “Nobody Walks,” a film with the message, literally spoken by a character, of “Marriage is complicated.” This is the kind of indie movie nonsense that other people think of when they use the phrase “Sundance film” derogatorily. It’s too bad because the cast is strong, especially the always-great Rosemarie DeWitt and the underrated Justin Kirk. I also long thought Olivia Thirlby would be an interesting young actress but she is wasted here as the sex object who comes into a home just in time to get between a husband and wife. It’s standard, cut-rate material with behavior and dialogue that never rings true. It’s not just bad, it made me angry.

Hello I Must Be Going
Photo credit: Oscilloscope

“Hello I Must Be Going”

DVD Rating: 3.5/5.0

Synopsis:
Hello I Must Be Going features acclaimed actress Melanie Lynskey (Up In The Air, Two And A Half Men) in her breakout role as Amy, a recent divorcée who seeks refuge in the suburban Connecticut home of her parents (Blythe Danner and John Rubinstein). Demoralized and directionless, Amy begins an affair with 19 year old actor Jeremy (Girls’ Christopher Abbott) that reignites her passion for life and jumpstarts her independence.

Coupling Danner’s riveting performance as a frustrated empty nester with Lynskey’s endearing depiction of both the comic and tragic avenues of life at a crossroads, Hello I Must Be Going is a modern, unconventional love story infused with sex, humor, and raw emotional honesty.

Special Features:
o New Interview With Director Todd Louiso And Screenwriter Sarah Koskoff
o Melanie Lynskey Interview With Journalist David Poland
o Original Theatrical Trailer

Nobody Walks
Photo credit: Magnolia

“Nobody Walks”

Blu-ray Rating: 1.0/5.0

Synopsis:
Peter (John Krasinski), a Hollywood sound designer, has agreed to help Martine (Olivia Thirlby) with her experimental art film as a favor to a friend of his wife (Rosemarie DeWitt). Martine, a beautiful and driven 23-year-old artist, comes to stay in the family’s pool house at their posh Silver Lake home to work on her film. Her arrival ignites raw emotions and desires throughout the entire family and everyone is forced to confront the new landscape that emerges in her wake.

Special Features:
o Deleted Scenes
o Scorpio - Martine’s Short Film
o Interview With Co-Writer And Director By Russo-Young
o Interview With Olivia Thirlby
o AXS TV: A Look At Nobody Walks
o Theatrical Trailer

[16]	By BRIAN TALLERICO [17] Content Director HollywoodChicago.com brian@hollywoodchicago.com [16]