I'm in an indie state of mind
November 30, 2007

I’m feeling pretty independent lately.

It happens every year or so, when I see a string of independent films that just make me want more.

Last weekend, staying up alone late and hoping to unwind after a little family overload, I popped the year-old Zach Braff starrer The Last Kiss into the DVD player.

My colleague Laurence Lerman often comments about my down-time choices, “Oh, you’re the one who saw it.” But I’ve always been a sucker for a romantic comedy and The Last Kiss (distributed by Dreamworks/Paramount, but produced independently) has a great cast—including Casey Affleck, Blythe Danner and Tom Wilkinson—a few fresh moments and an appealing earnestness, a top-notch trait in an indie film.

Just a couple of weekends earlier, my husband and I spent one of our rare movie date nights at Sean Penn’s Into the Wild, repeating a now familiar pattern by which we pick a film we’re interested in, even though we know it might not be what one would call entertaining. (It’s no secret that the guy dies at the end, completely alone and miles from nowhere!)

We take the chance that we’ll leave the theater scratching our heads about why we spent a precious date night on that, but that’s the risk of intellectual curiosity. (While not uplifting, Into the Wild is beautifully shot, interesting and...earnest.)

My point, and I do have one, is that there are lots of great indie films being distributed, and when you see a couple in a short period of time, it creates a hunger to see more. DVD retailers, particularly rental stores, can play a key role in this cycle, since many, many more people will see these films on DVD than ever will in theaters. A well-stocked store and a knowledgeable, movie-loving staff can introduce your customers to these titles and keep them coming back for more.

Last week’s Spirit Award nominations provide a great list of quality indies currently in distribution. With no crossover hit like last year’s Little Miss Sunshine in the mix, the Spirit noms were spread amongst numerous films, the most commercially successful of which is screenplay nominee Waitress, with $19 million at the box-office.

Current theatricals I’m Not There (multiple actors play Bob Dylan), Juno (Jason Reitman’s off-kilter teen pregnancy comedy), French The Diving Bell and the Butterfly and The Savages (Philip Seymour Hoffman and Laura Linney as dysfunctional brother and sister) took the most noms.

But lots of the noms are already available on DVD. In addition to Waitress, which came out last week, there are Daniel Pearl biopic A Mighty Heart, Mike White’s Year of the Dog with Molly Shannon, Michael Moore’s Sicko, Don Cheadle vehicle Talk to Me, Zoe Cassavetes’ Broken English starring Parker Posey, Werner Herzog’s Rescue Dawn with Christian Bale and Steve Zahn and Interview with Sienna Miller and Steve Buscemi, which is due next week. Look for Into the Wild in February.

Check them all out.

For a list of all the 2008 Spirit Award nominees, see Variety's story.

Posted by Marcy Magiera on November 30, 2007 | Comments (0)