Director: Jan Komasa
This movie has a Polish director but is set in America and there are no subtitles. Released last year, it’s part of London’s Polish film festival, Kinoteka. Anniversary opens with what has become a dreadful cliché – the establishment of a well-to-do, grown-up American family at a celebration at their lovely home, in this case the parents’ silver wedding anniversary. It’s also a cliché that the smug family is about to be ripped apart, usually by the appearance and interference of a malign character.
And so we have Liz (Phoebe Dynevor), girlfriend of Josh (Dylan O’Brien), the least successful of the offspring. She turns out to have been a student of the mother Ellen (Diane Lane). The pair have a history of disagreement over Liz’s political views, which Ellen regards as anti-democratic. While the set-up may be less than inspired, the characters themselves are well played as the conflict begins to develop.
There’s a sharpness to the script, acting and direction that makes this film more compelling than its routine counterparts. The political thread of the story in particular starts to move things in interesting directions. This is not just the tale of a personality clash – it has more substance. However it’s not altogether convincing that these adults would put themselves through repeated iterations of such awful get-togethers!
Unusually, the film veers into full-blown dystopian territory as Liz’s published polemic becomes the foundation of an authoritarian ideology that sweeps the country. There are excellent turns from the leads, including Kyle Chandler as peace-loving dad Paul. The change of body language in the character of Josh as he goes from family loser to dominant party is especially chilling.
Anniversary screens at Kinoteka Polish Film Festival on 1 March.
1 Comment
I loved this film. So interesting and timely. Diane Lane was phenomenal.