A Family Affair: Brougher Does Some Marital Maneuvering in Piercing and Personal Drama
Chronicling the implosion of a Catskills couple in micro details, Hilary Brougher returns to unhappiness, malaise and restlessness with her fourth feature film. Featuring a robust Talia Balsam, this family affair (Brougher enlists actual household members), offers sharp dialogue, and a strong sense of place which makes South Mountain a mature and memorable essay on marital endpoints and endgame.
Minutes into the feature, Edgar’s (Scott Cohen) secret lover skypes him to live-stream the birth of their new child. It’s an explosive opening to a small but thunderous drama, as our protagonist Lila (Balsam) reacts to this news in shocking fashion.…...
Chronicling the implosion of a Catskills couple in micro details, Hilary Brougher returns to unhappiness, malaise and restlessness with her fourth feature film. Featuring a robust Talia Balsam, this family affair (Brougher enlists actual household members), offers sharp dialogue, and a strong sense of place which makes South Mountain a mature and memorable essay on marital endpoints and endgame.
Minutes into the feature, Edgar’s (Scott Cohen) secret lover skypes him to live-stream the birth of their new child. It’s an explosive opening to a small but thunderous drama, as our protagonist Lila (Balsam) reacts to this news in shocking fashion.…...
- 5/9/2020
- by Matt Delman
- IONCINEMA.com
“South Mountain” joins the company of “Gloria Bell” and “Diane” as yet another 2019 drama intimately attuned to the literal and emotional plight of a middle-aged woman. In the case of Hilary Brougher’s incisive feature, the female in question is Lila (Talia Balsam), whose quiet life in upstate New York is destabilized by a continuing series of abandonments. A snapshot of major and minor upheavals, and the rocky means by which people move forward from them, it’s a showcase for Balsam’s superb lead turn, and — following its premiere at SXSW earlier this year, and spotlight selection screening at BAMcinemaFEst — an accomplished if minor indie facing a tough marketplace.
At an afternoon cookout with breast-cancer-stricken friend Gigi (Andrus Nichols) and her kids Charlotte (Violet Rea) and Jake (Guthrie Mass), Lila appears subtly troubled when screenwriter husband Edgar (Scott Cohen) chooses to take a work call in private. Her fears are well-founded,...
At an afternoon cookout with breast-cancer-stricken friend Gigi (Andrus Nichols) and her kids Charlotte (Violet Rea) and Jake (Guthrie Mass), Lila appears subtly troubled when screenwriter husband Edgar (Scott Cohen) chooses to take a work call in private. Her fears are well-founded,...
- 6/19/2019
- by Nick Schager
- Variety Film + TV
Bam has released the full lineup for its 11th annual BAMcinemaFest, a “platform for both emerging and established filmmakers as well as unconventional and often overlooked films,” which will run this year from June 12 — 23. This year’s 12-day festival includes 18 NY premieres, one U.S. premiere, and three world premieres.
Gina Duncan, Associate Vice President of Film, told IndieWire of the programming picks, “We have the same goal every year: to present the best American independent cinema being made today. But this is the first year that I’ve felt the films fit together as a cohesive whole; they are linked by a naturalness, an intimate focus, and boundless creativity. As the larger film conversation continues to focus on record-breaking box offices, it feels defiant to present a program that centers film as art.”
This year’s festival will open on June 12 with the New York premiere of Lulu Wang...
Gina Duncan, Associate Vice President of Film, told IndieWire of the programming picks, “We have the same goal every year: to present the best American independent cinema being made today. But this is the first year that I’ve felt the films fit together as a cohesive whole; they are linked by a naturalness, an intimate focus, and boundless creativity. As the larger film conversation continues to focus on record-breaking box offices, it feels defiant to present a program that centers film as art.”
This year’s festival will open on June 12 with the New York premiere of Lulu Wang...
- 5/2/2019
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
After the melodramatic setup of its first act, “South Mountain” almost takes a violent turn. Faced with the devastating decision by her husband Edgar (Scott Cohen) to leave her after decades of marriage, Lila (Talia Balsam) acts on an angry impulse and nearly causes irreparable harm. But director Hilary Brougher’s wise, understated screenplay undercuts the tension with a practical response, as if to prove that the movie needs no special gimmick to infuse its complex scenario with purpose. The characters are deep enough to do the heavy lifting.
Brougher’s first feature since 2006’s “Stephanie Daley” is a tender, intimate, and blatantly personal work that wears its lo-fi narrative with pride. Grounded in mature dialogue and the quiet moments in between, the movie centers on a tumultuous summer in which middle-aged Catskills resident and community college teacher Lila finds her utopian hippy lifestyle thrown into upheaval when her husband...
Brougher’s first feature since 2006’s “Stephanie Daley” is a tender, intimate, and blatantly personal work that wears its lo-fi narrative with pride. Grounded in mature dialogue and the quiet moments in between, the movie centers on a tumultuous summer in which middle-aged Catskills resident and community college teacher Lila finds her utopian hippy lifestyle thrown into upheaval when her husband...
- 3/11/2019
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
Getting a feature film into SXSW is a big accomplishment for an independent filmmaker. It’s an important building block toward a full-time career in the industry, but for many it is not an achievement that can, in and of itself, pay the bills. IndieWire asked 30 directors premiering scripted narrative features in one of four SXSW 2019 categories how, when they are not making independent films, do they make a living? Here’s what they had to say.
Sandy K Boone (“J.R. ‘Bob’ Dobbs and The Church of the SubGenius”): I am a licensed realtor and have sold luxury real estate for over 30 years for my day-to-day living.
Travis Stevens (“Girl on the Third Floor”): Since 2010 I’ve been fortunate enough to pay my rent by producing independent films.
Emily Ting (“Go Back to China”): I’ve been working as the Creative Director for my family’s...
Sandy K Boone (“J.R. ‘Bob’ Dobbs and The Church of the SubGenius”): I am a licensed realtor and have sold luxury real estate for over 30 years for my day-to-day living.
Travis Stevens (“Girl on the Third Floor”): Since 2010 I’ve been fortunate enough to pay my rent by producing independent films.
Emily Ting (“Go Back to China”): I’ve been working as the Creative Director for my family’s...
- 3/9/2019
- by Chris O'Falt
- Indiewire
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.