Heightened indeed, the film stars Alexis Bledel and Saoirse Ronan as contact killers who need the commission off their next hit to purchase a dress from a pop star’s new fashion line. The trajectory changes upon meeting their target, a dying man who welcomes death, played by James Gandolfini.

Fletcher began writing VIOLET & DAISY before getting the opportunity to adapt the novel PUSH by Sapphire into the screenplay for the acclaimed film PRECIOUS, which won him the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay in 2010. Shortly after completing PRECIOUS, the characters that were born in his mind before his big break revisited him.

“The characters started speaking back to me and I always think that’s such a great place to find yourself or such a great place to be,” remembers Fletcher. “ I’ve always been fascinated by the crime genre and the coming-of- age genre and I thought combining those and experiencing them through the perspective of two lost young women provided a wealth of opportunities for both entertainment value and humanity.”

With VIOLET & DAISY Fletcher uses a medley of genres, themes and styles to illustrate the story, characters and worlds that evolved within him, and he knew that there was no possibility of him handing over this grim and surreal tale of friendship, crime, hunger, materialism and fame-worship to another director.

“This world is so specific,” explains Fletcher. “[…] I really had a clear idea of how every moment would be portrayed. It requires one to really know this story from the inside out and while shooting it really helps to be immersed, and feel that you understand every square inch of the universe you’re creating.”

While the writer and director immersed himself in a universe that was his brainchild, and which he describes as sometimes strange and wild, the cast (including Danny Trejo and Marianne Jean-Baptiste alongside Bledel, Ronan and Gandolfini) might have experienced some wonderment coming into this new and interesting territory.

“To me the most important thing was that however unusual situations may seem that they find the truth in them,” says Fletcher of his actors. “There’s a fable-like aspect [to the film]. Fables are rooted in very real issues in humanity, and I think that all of the actors in this piece found the souls of their characters.”

However challenging, Fletcher says that eclectic collection of actors stepped up to the plate and excited him as a filmmaker. “The notion of Saoirse Ronan and Danny Trejo sharing a scene was thrilling,” he says. “And, the notion of Alexis Bledel finishing off James Gandolfini was thrilling. I think that you’ll see different sides of all of these actors.”

With PRECIOUS, and now VIOLET& DAISY, the former Columbia University and NYU adjunct film professor has written compelling and moving narrative about real, complex and interesting female characters. He doesn’t feel it is a stretch for a man to tell a story about a woman, and that it is the story, combined with a storyteller’s passion and sincerity that really matter. “I think so much has been done in the boy universe and there’s so much left to do in a girl universe,” explains Fletcher. “Men and women go through this life side by side, so I’m often curious about things that aren’t explored …”

Fletcher’s bold explorations through this film have surprised many, and upon showing a former film student an early cut of VIOLET & DAISY he was asked if he was scared to take so many chances. “I think that a degree of fear is healthy,” he says. “But, ideally you’re motivated primarily by desire and curiosity and wonder about what can work instead of what might work. To me any film that takes inspired chances that are in search of something is a success.”

“It was a lot about a generation that had been over-praised and told that they could do whatever they want at the cost of reality,” explains the director. “I thought it was a funny place to start and had really good satire about the youthful kind of optimism that each generation has thinking that they have the right to the American Dream that doesn’t exist anymore.”

Adult World has Emma Roberts in her most impressive role yet, starring as Amy– a self-indulgent, aspiring poet who aspires to be published, renowned and celebrated her first year after college. Instead, she is met with question marks and limited employment opportunities, forcing her to take a job at a local pornography shop.

The character of Amy is complicated and the role called for a balanced eccentricity that Emma Roberts navigates really well. “I met a lot of good young actresses,” says Coffey. “Nobody seemed to have the kind of self-consciousness, but also the will and humor and vulnerability at the same time. That was a really tough thing to find and when I met Emma I knew right away that she was right.”

The actor and director, who previously directed Ellie Parker in 2005, also has a small role in Adult World and helped put together a wonderful supporting cast, which includes Evan Peters as the shop manager whose charm and earnestness open Amy up to new possibilities, John Cusack as a washed-up writer who reluctantly takes up Amy’s offer to be his protégé/maid and teaches her lessons of the harsher variety, and, Armando Riesco with a standout, crowd-pleasing performance as Rubio, the hilarious and nurturing drag queen that helps Amy come into her own.

“Everyone loves Rubio so much,” affirms Coffey. “Armando’s a wonderful actor. That was a really challenging role because I didn’t want it to be just some silly, parody of a drag queen. Rubio is someone who has a lot of dignity and a lot of strength.”
Adult World made its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival last week and received an overwhelmingly positive response from the audience on opening night, a sign that the film succeeds as a funny and insightful satire that brings to the surface cold, hard truths about the fickle character of the latest generations of young adulthood, but still inspires some hope and positivity—all of which Scott Coffey explores through Amy.

“There’s enough sadness to the movie,” notes Coffey. “But also it’s a comedy so I liked adding those two elements to it.

It took LaMarque, whose short film Spoonful was a 2012 Sundance selection, several years to compose her first ever screenplay. “I wrote the first draft when I was pregnant with my daughter who’s now five, so it’s been quite a journey,” says LaMarque. “And, in the process of that I went to film school and studied screenwriting.”

In those years the Stanford University and American Film Institute graduate sculpted The Pretty One, making its World Premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival this year. It is about Laurel, an awkward, homely young woman living at home, who upon losing her identical twin Audrey, faces an identity crisis that combines the grief of losing her other half and her desire to assume her sister’s confident, sophisticated, cool personality.

“I see the two characters as two sides of the same coin,” says LaMarque of Laurel and Audrey. “Like the part of us that feels insecure and scared– that you don’t want to take a chance, that maybe you don’t deserve something. And, then there’s the part of you that’s brave and goes out there and takes chances and risks, and maybe decides to put on some make-up. There’s value to both sides. I think that women deal with that sort of duality of like ‘where do I fit on this spectrum of being a woman?’”

Actress, screenwriter and playwright Zoe Kazan was drawn to the screenplay and the idea of playing twins for similar reasons. “There’s that kind of duality to both characters that was intriguing to me,” explains Kazan. “I haven’t been asked to do a lot of really sexy stuff on film and that’s a big part of my life. I’ve always been a very sensual person. And, I was able to bring the parts of me that still feel like a gawky thirteen-year-old whose feet move before the rest of her body.”
“We all go home and put on sweatpants and take our make-up off and put our hair up and look like possums. There’s a part of all of us that doesn’t feel good about ourselves. The movie also deals with how Audrey is a girl who went out and convinced the world that she was a beautiful girl and that she was an adult and sexy—that conundrum exists in all of us.”

The experience of playing twins was just as challenging for Kazan as it was rewarding, especially playing opposite herself.“That stuff is really hard, because you’re trained as an actor to be really generous with your screen partner and vibe off whatever they’re doing,” says Kazan. “I feel like I got so much better at the technical aspects of filmmaking after doing that.”

“It took three times as long to shoot the scenes where she was playing both characters and she was acting off a body double,” adds LaMarque.

LaMarque also really appreciated Kazan’s collaborative spirit. “She brings a lot into the collaboration as a storyteller and as a writer, and I really respect that and value that part of the collaborative process. She brought a lot to it.”

The director also notes that Jake Johnson, who plays Audrey’s neighbor Basel, also brought a lot to the film. “Jake Johnson and Zoe also had great chemistry and improvised off of one another,” says LaMarque of their dynamic. “Those were some of the best moments and the most fun; because I didn’t plan it […] it was so funny and real.”

After focusing on The Pretty One for the last five years, Jenée LaMarque is excited to put it out into the world, while expecting her second child in August and working on new screenplays. Zoe Kazan is also focusing on writing, after having shot four movies last year (including The F Word with Daniel Radcliffe), and is currently work-shopping her new play.

When asked what the play is about, Kazan simply says “An affair.”

For those not familiar with Jeff Buckley’s music—he had a very unique four-octave range tenor voice and his one completed and released album Grace was one of the most acclaimed albums ever, so “balls of steel,” they must be!

Greetings from Tim Buckley is ambitious in that it intertwines the biographies and musical legacies of two distinct individuals, who did not have a shared history, despite the fact that they were father and son. The film focuses on Jeff Buckley’s reluctant involvement in his late father’s tribute concert in Brooklyn’s Saint Anna’s Church in 1991 and Tim Buckley’s life leading up to and right after the birth of his son. Young Jeff Buckley struggles with closure and forgiveness as he is awakened to his inheritances through the people who knew and/or admired the father he never had the chance to know, except through music.

Directed and co-written by Daniel Algrant (Naked in New York, People I Know), Greetings from Tim Buckley isn’t a stereotypical biopic. The film moves between two –periods of time and is really carried by music. We are not given a bunch of pivotal moments strung together or bits and pieces of songs or abridged performances—Tim Buckley’s music really lives and thrives in this film. Even for those of us who never knew Jeff Buckley had a famous, folk-singer father, the music is moving and does so much of the storytelling. The songs don’t lose any of their depth or weight for the sake of plot development.

And, thank goodness Gossip Girl is over, because although it was a great steady gig for Badgley and he probably made life-long friends—now he can do more of what he does in Greetings. His performance is transformative and astute, gentle and raw, and culminates with a moving recreation of Jeff’s legendary rendition of Tim’s “Once I Was.” (There is also an incredibly entertaining scene that has Jeff giving a spastic impromptu performance in a NYC record store that had everyone in the audience clapping and howling with cheers).

Deep in a stark, isolated rural village in Kazakhstan thirteen-year-old Aslan lives with his grandmother. The scientifically-inclined boy is highly intelligent and observant, but also withdrawn and sickly. His grandmother thinks he may be cursed and he silently endures the torment he faces at school, which comes under the orders of Bolat- a henchman who through intimidation and violence collects money from his classmates for the senior gang leaders, who then funnel the cash to those behind bars.

All the while, the gifted and skillful boy is devising a plan for retribution.

Timur Aidarbekov is exceptional as Aslan. With very few words spoken throughout the film, Aidarbekov makes Aslan’s loneliness of mind, spirit and company completely palpable. At the same time, his performance is provocative—we can see his mind at work and we have a sense of his depth of perception and feeling, however internalized. Aslan Anarbayev is also impressive as Bolat, conveying both the false confidence, as well as the fears, anxieties and insecurities that bullies tend to carry, very naturally.

The sophisticated execution of Aidarbekov’s performance correlates with the directing style and cinematography of Harmony Lessons. Emir Baigazin wrote, directed and edited this debut feature, and at 29 years of age, has been able create a picture that is grave and sobering, but in the most expressive and compelling ways.

Baigazin’s cinematic revelations come through slowly and with meticulous attention to detail. The storytelling is visual poetry, and words are used only when needed. The symbolism in the film is a demonstration of more than one teenager’s anguish—it’s a map through the topography of a culture and society in a very complicated part of the world. And, on yet another level it speaks to humanity as a whole.

The French and German production, received a Special Jury Mention in the Best New Director category at the Tribeca Film Festival this week, and a well-deserved one.  With Harmony Lessons, Emir Baigazin proves that he is filmmaker with purpose and with a vision. The subject, the plot, the setting are grim, from start to finish. It is not an easy film to sit through, but once you’ve seen it, there is so much that sits with you.

There are nine years between each one of these films, so there is always an element of mystery and anticipation that is important to the overall experience of the Before films, which is why I chose not to watch the trailer. I didn’t want to know a thing about the last nine years in the lives of these two luckless lovers until I sat down and it revealed itself to me in its entirety. For the sake of other fans, I will refrain from revealing any important details, and because the films are not plot-driven, a lengthy synopsis is not necessary.

We find Jesse and Celine nine years older and in Greece. Unlike its predecessors, Before Midnight introduces us to several new characters, all of whom lend certain insights about who the idealistic-leaning, intellectually-driven writer from Texas and the cynically-leaning, intellectually-driven environmentalist from Paris have become.

For some fans the sequel to Before Sunrise ruined whatever ending they conjured up for the couple in their own minds or the uncertainty they found so promising. Certainly with every additional chapter the mystery and the need for imagination fades, but the wonderful thing is that the characters come alive again. They are awaken, no longer just a memory, and are more alive, colorful and real than ever.

Director Richard Linklater, and stars Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke seem to have invested whole-heartedly on artistic and personal levels to not only keep these characters and this story breathing, but to do so as honestly and faithfully as possible.

Before Sunset and Before Midnight are true, worthy, nearly perfect companions to the original. Delpy and Hawke have really stepped up to the plate as screenwriters, with progressions that are so unwavering you forget they had no part in writing the first screenplay. The dialogue is immaculate–as rich, thought-provoking, witty and engaging as ever and there is still something remarkable– a natural, seamless alchemy to Delpy and Hawke’s dynamic on-screen that has evolved, but has not dwindled.

Tal, having moved from France to Jerusalem with her family, is having a hard time adjusting to her surroundings and lives in constant fear of suicide bombers. She doesn’t understand the conflict and the violence, but in seeking to, she puts a message in a bottle and asks her brother, an Israeli soldier stationed in Gaza, to send it out to sea in hopes that it will reach someone and that she will forge a connection with someone on the other side.

When a group of young men find the message they laugh it off, but one of them feels compelled to respond. Naim, a young Palestinian man with intelligence, but lacking ambition, feels compelled by cynicism and anger to respond, but upon further e-mail correspondence, Tal and Naim challenge each other, bond and become an integral part of each other’s lives. Even amidst increasing regional and internal turmoil, the two young people form a basic human connection that brings to light realizations about one another and about themselves.

Directed by French filmmaker Thierry Binisti, and starring French actress Agathe Bonitzer as Tal and Israeli-Arab actor Mahmoud Shalaby as Naim, A Bottle in the Gaza Sea is successful in showing us the two distinct worlds of Gaza and Jerusalem, from the lifestyles and languages, cultures and convictions. The divide drawn in the film and the line draw between these two friends, is more than location and deeper than politics, and the protagonists reflect that complexity as well. They don’t end up on the same side or awaken those around them to a new perspective– all they know is that they want to be friends and that they want a different future.

Honest performances from Bonitzer and Shalaby anchor the film and engage viewers, and solid directing effectively balances the fear, anxiety and violence of life in the regions, with some sense of normality. A Bottle in the Gaza Sea humanizes everyone and polarizes no one, which is another strong point, but at the heart of the film there is optimism about friendship, not so much optimism about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It is an expression of that feeling we all have when we make a true and lasting friend, that feeling of wanting to understand more, wanting to hurt less and wanting to be a better person.

Nick (Juddy Talt) has a lot of experience getting dumped and no experience on the flip side. From his first playground romance all the way up to a fractured engagement, Nick’s history of heartbreak spans decades, and that is despite the fact that he is the author of several best-selling romantic novels. When his sophisticated British fiancé Violet (Lara Pulver) ends their relationship (citing boredom) and starts seeing someone else, he is hopelessly hopeful that he can get her back and also confounded as ever as to how and why he can successfully convey love on the page, but is a perpetual failure at holding onto it in real life.

Returning to his suburban hometown in Illinois to gain some perspective and give Violet space, he spends his time avoiding his eccentric mother (Mimi, played by Julie White), hanging out with his childhood best friend Cubbie (Ethan Cohn) and obsessing over the break-up, when he meets a quirky girl names Emma (Kate French), who actually likes him the way he is and just may be the girl for him if he would let go of the past.

Language of a Broken Heart, shoots for the simple, straight-forward romantic comedy and they followed the formula, but the execution is sloppy and lackluster every step of the way. The script is weak, with dialogue that is stiff, and lacks wit, charm or anything interesting, engaging or honest. And, they found a cast that matches those vacancies. If Nick is supposed to be the sad, but lovable dork/loser that redeems him, then the lovable part is entirely lost. There is nothing very endearing about Nick, thanks mostly to the story, but also partly to the uneasy, anemic performance from Juddy Talt.

Kate French tries to bring a Rachel Bilson-Zooey Deschanel fusion to the character of Emma, and she while she is definitely super cute, she wasn’t quite on the mark with the quirky part, or at least she doesn’t make it look as effortless as Bilson and Deschanel do. Emma’s character and portrayal are inauthentic and annoying. Talt and French don’t really have any palpable chemistry on the screen and there were no winning moments written for them either. The subplots are also strained and boring, and save for a couple of bright moments from Julie White, the movie is altogether stiff and there is nothing for viewers to look forward to.

Language of a Broken Heart is now playing in NY and LA.

Written and directed by Guillaume Canet (French screen star/heart throb and writer/director of several films, including the acclaimed Tell No One), and starring some of France’s brightest stars, including Academy Award winners Jean Dujardin (The Artist) and Marion Cotillard (La Vie En Rose, Inception), Little White Lies chronicles the events and revelations that emerge when an intimate group of friends go on their annual vacation right after one of their own (Ludo, Jean Dujardin) is gravely injured in a motorcycle accident.

While distraught and hurting over Ludo’s condition, they try to enjoy their vacation, but instead all their individual fears, anxieties and secrets surface and reach their boiling points. From friendships to marriages, relationships are tested. Some connections are fractured, while others are restored—all in between boat rides and afternoons on the beach.

There are a lot of characters and subplots in Little White Lies, some more prominent and engaging than others, and although the film could not have suffered from one less, no one of them really hurt the film. However, they all contribute to a length that most people will determine to be tedious. Though I could appreciate and engage in all the pieces, the line is fine, and it is easy to see how audiences could find the film to be laborious and become detached.

There is plenty of melodrama to go around the 154 minutes of this movie, but there are also several moments of laughter, sadness and sweetness that feel true, thanks to the solid acting and chemistry from the cast, as well as the character-driven directing style, both of which produce finely-tuned candor.

The cast is exceptional, balancing complexity and subtly to create strong individual performances and an authentic group dynamic. Marion Cotillard churns out a strong performance, and is lovely to watch, as Marie. She is always ON, whether the scene requires delicacy or fierce emotion. François Cluzet and Benoît Magimel also shine as Max and Vincent, in what is the most central and interesting chapter of the story.

The great thing about watching Little White Lies on DVD is that there is a fast forward function for anyone who thinks they might like the movie, but says “Nah,” because they think it is too long. Some parts are skipable, but I wouldn’t skip it all together. It contains acting that is strong, moments that are moving and a Classic American Rock soundtrack that is pretty cool.

A departure from the crime dramas set in his hometown of Boston, Affleck directs and stars in Argo, bringing to life an incredible true story that most people are not aware of. Unbelievably, the story goes like this: An Iranian hostage crisis in 1979 involving six fleeing Americans is hijacked by a last-resort rescue mission to pass those that are hiding off as the filmmakers scouting locations for a bogus Sci-Fi film called Argo. It wasn’t until 1997 that the mission became declassified by President Clinton and the world found out what actually happened during that highly publicized period.

Affleck stars as Tony Mendez, the exfil specialist who came up the “best bad idea” for a rescue mission..”I got an idea. They’re a Canadian film crew for a science-fiction movie. I fly into Tehran, we all fly out together as film crew.” He counters his aggressive, meticulous directing with steady and balanced acting.

In a film that runs two hours there is not a moment of disengagement. “Edge-of-your seat” is a pretty mild term to describe the feeling you get(or your physical orientation, for that matter)when watching this pressure-filled thriller. Most importantly, Affleck is able to bring the audience along for the turbulent ride, step by step with filmmaking that is tight with excitement and tension, but also extremely clear and detailed.

Bryan Cranston is as electric as ever as Jack O’Donnell, Mendez’s supervisor at the CIA. Alan Arkin and John Goodman are at their best, as the real-life director and the make-up artist for the fake movie, bringing out enormous laughs from the audience throughout the film. Kyle Chandler, Tate Donovan, Chris Messina, Victor Garber, Clea DuVall, among several others, also shine in their supporting roles.

Combine accurate, powerful and driven storytelling with an impeccable cast that perfectly handles brilliant dialogue– dialogue that includes a lot of humor, you not only get one of the best movies of the year– you get an instant classic. Its so good that its kind of a shame that we’re still talking about how we thought Affleck was done.