SXSW 2021 Reviews: Here Before, Our Father, I’m Fine (Thanks for Asking)

Family is a dominant topic at this year’s SXSW festival, films focusing on every aspect of the familial dynamic are everywhere. Whether it be a struggling mother just trying to get an apartment for her daughter, two estranged sisters desperately searching for meaning, or a woman who comes to believe her deceased daughter might just be reincarnated as the little girl next door; SXSW 2021 is a year for family themes.

I’m Fine (Thanks for Asking)

Danny (Kelley Kali) recently lost her husband, and a place to live quickly followed suit. Without a steady job, Danny and her 8-year-old daughter, Wes (a delightful Wesley Moss), take up residence in a tent off in a distant field. Currently homeless, Danny has her sights set on an apartment if she can gather enough funds from her side jobs as a hair stylist and food delivery service on skates before the day ends. Rolling around town from one opportunity to the next, I’m Fine (Thanks for Asking) follows Danny’s impressive skating quest to get her child off the streets, and her life back on course.

Kelley Kali and Angelique Molina both wrote and directed (Roma Kong is also credited on the screenplay) this tale of the “just can’t catch a break” Danny, and the heart of their film lies within Kali’s performance. While demonstrating the constant struggle of a woman who was dealt a major blow to her life’s plan when her husband passed, Kali exudes understandable frustration and despair. What is refreshing about her performance, is that undercurrent of hope and determinedness that lies just beneath the surface. This isn’t a woman who has given in to the challenges of a financially strapped life, she continues to persevere by literally rolling forward from one obstacle to the next.

I’m Fine takes place over the course of only one day, and we are following Danny throughout so the film lives and breathes on her performance. That warmth and clinging optimism is what keeps I’m Fine engaging even when various storylines zigzag in the most obvious of directions. It was refreshing to watch this incessant optimism hovering over this otherwise dire tale of a single parent’s efforts to provide the basic essentials to her child.  Bonus points for the hilariously literal drive-by cameo from Deon Cole.

The Hollywood Outsider Rating: 6/10

Our Father

Two estranged sisters, Beta and Zelda, attempt one last try at a sisterly bond after their father dies unexpectedly and they learn they have a secret uncle. With three older brothers who barely acknowledge their existence, the sisters head off on a quest to find Uncle Jerry and rekindle a bit of that family love.

Baize Buzan’s Beta is reserved and looking to cut ties entirely by running away to grad school, while Allison Torem’s Zelda is a whirlwind of poor life choices wrapped up in an enigma of independence. Both leads engagingly fill the screen (Buzan in particular shines as her character frequently veers between comedic and dire tones) and instantly mesh as a believable sisterly unit, playing off each other with reverence as their characters identify their separate journeys.

What begins as compellingly quirky dark comedy holds momentum for the majority of its runtime, captivating us with the honesty of this obviously fractured family. It’s a constant reminder of many of our own personal connections, and how often blood lines do not define those closest to you. Sadly, as Our Father careens into its final moments, it loses both focus and momentum. While it might seem a more genuine conclusion than other films, it nonetheless distracts from an otherwise fascinating dissection of family dynamics.

The Hollywood Outsider Rating: 5.5/10

Here Before

Laura (Andrea Riseborough) is a mother who knows pain. Her daughter, Josie, passed away several years back in a car accident, and she finally has put her life back in order. That is, until new neighbors move in right next door. Friendly and welcoming, they also have a young daughter in tow, with rosy cheeks and a familiar smile.

Maybe too familiar?

Because soon after spending more than what equates to a comfortable amount of time with Megan (Niamh Dornan), Laura begins to believe that Megan might just BE Josie…reincarnated. At the expense of her mild-mannered husband, Brendan (Jonjo O’Neill), and arrogant son, Tadhg (Lewis McAskie), Laura sets out to determine definitively if Josie is now residing in the body of the girl next door.

Stacey Gregg writes and directs this supernatural-tinged mystery which centers around the worst of parenting horrors: the grief of losing a child. Laura has undergone therapy and graduated to a place of solace in her life when Megan arrives. She isn’t pining for a possible reimagining of her beloved daughter, it is in little details and comments Megan offers at random intervals, as well as the familiarity of that face. Gregg’s script and the tension within unravels in multiple layers simultaneously, as both a mystery (could Megan REALLY be Josie?) and a heartfelt discussion of loss (can Laura ever truly “get over” losing her little girl?). An important aspect to Gregg’s mystery is how she keeps Josie from us, as our “memories” of Josie are often as cloudy as Laura’s, making us question the reality of it all right along with her mother.

At the center of all of it is Andrea Riseborough’s heartbreaking portrayal of Laura. Every ounce of tragedy Laura has endured is worn on Riseborough’s pale exterior; the calamity of her situation and pain of her grief eternally evident. As we wade through the second act where Laura glides through the possibilities (approaching a rather brutally clever twist I didn’t see coming) and Gregg’s narrative wanders a bit too far into a haze of confusion, Riseborough carries the film on her back, demanding we see it through to the end. Her growing belief in the impossible drives the story, but it’s those powering facial tics carrying the film as the parent we all wonder if we would be.

Ultimately, Here Before is telling a story about grief and the pain of loss. Honestly, what would YOU do if you truly believed your child had been reincarnated as the little girl next door?

The Hollywood Outsider Rating: 6.5/10

Follow our further discussion on over 30 film and episodic premieres screened at SXSW 2021 via this episode of The Hollywood Outsider podcast: