TAGGED AS: festivals, Film Festival, movies, SXSW
The SXSW 2021 Movie Scorecard
SXSW, the first film festival to cancel its in-person events as the 2020 pandemic began last year, returned for an all-virtual edition in 2021. With our SXSW 2021 Movie Scorecard, see all the movies that played this year and, with enough critics reviews, got their Tomatometer scores! —Alex Vo
#57
Adjusted Score: 100039%
Critics Consensus: Poly Styrene: I Am a Cliché pays worthy tribute to its trailblazing subject with a documentary that honors her life as engagingly as it chronicles her career.
Synopsis: Poly Styrene was the first woman of color in the UK to front a successful rock band. She introduced the...
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#56
Adjusted Score: 101550%
Critics Consensus: Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched: A History of Folk Horror takes a fascinating deep dive that'll leave like-minded viewers making numerous new additions to their streaming queues.
Synopsis: WOODLANDS DARK AND DAYS BEWITCHED is the first feature-length documentary on the history of folk horror, exploring the phenomenon from...
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#55
Adjusted Score: 101062%
Critics Consensus: Introducing, Selma Blair lives up to its title with a personal look at a celebrity pulling back the curtain with courage, humor, and grace.
Synopsis: One woman's journey of personal acceptance and resilience after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis....
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#54
Adjusted Score: 96589%
Critics Consensus: Udo Kier's layered performance lends Swan Song a nuance and poignancy that offset its potentially outlandish story.
Synopsis: Legendary actor Udo Kier stars as retired hairdresser Pat Pitsenbarger, who escapes the confines of his small-town Sandusky, Ohio nursing...
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#53
Adjusted Score: 91192%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: A state of secrets and a ruthless hunt for whistleblowers -- this is the story of 25-year-old NSA contractor Reality...
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#52
Adjusted Score: 97736%
Critics Consensus: Dear Mr. Brody uses its stranger-than-fiction true story to take a touching look at how an act of kindness can reverberate for years.
Synopsis: When 21-year-old hippie-millionaire Michael Brody Jr. decided to give away his $25-million fortune to anyone in need, he ignited a...
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#51
Adjusted Score: 101116%
Critics Consensus: Led by Kristine Kujath Thorp's charming performance, Ninjababy offers a refreshingly -- and rudely -- honest take on unplanned pregnancy.
Synopsis: When Rakel (23), way too late, finds out she's six months pregnant after a not-so-romantic one-night stand, her world changes....
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#50
Adjusted Score: 86170%
Critics Consensus: More than a making-of documentary, Charli XCX: Alone Together ties the story of a new album's creation to the bond between the artist and her fans.
Synopsis: Seeking solace in music during the COVID-19 pandemic, global pop star Charli XCX asks her fans to help her make...
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#49
Adjusted Score: 100194%
Critics Consensus: Not Going Quietly uses its subject's remarkable story to offer an uplifting tribute to the way an individual voice can lead to activism and collective change.
Synopsis: A rising star in progressive politics and a new father, 32-year-old Ady Barkan's life is upended when he is diagnosed...
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#48
Adjusted Score: 43446%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: This unscripted feature follows five years in the life of Claude Motley as he tries to recover mentally and physically...
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#47
Adjusted Score: 100263%
Critics Consensus: Language Lessons extols the value of friendship with a simple story rendered all the more effective by its pure spirit and the chemistry between its leads.
Synopsis: When Adam's (Mark Duplass) husband surprises him with weekly Spanish lessons, he's unsure about where or how this new element...
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#46
Adjusted Score: 97899%
Critics Consensus: A character-driven treat for fans of conversation-based drama, the well-acted See You Then offers a refreshing perspective on relationship stories and gender roles.
Synopsis: A decade after abruptly breaking up with Naomi, Kris invites her to dinner to catch up on their complicated lives,...
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#45
Adjusted Score: 88735%
Critics Consensus: Uneven yet powerfully affecting, I'm Fine (Thanks for Asking) looks at life below the poverty line with clear-eyed compassion.
Synopsis: When a recently widowed mother becomes houseless, she convinces her 8-year-old daughter that they are only camping for fun while...
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#44
Adjusted Score: 96471%
Critics Consensus: A delight for fans of Ridley Scott's 1979 classic, Alien on Stage celebrates the power that art possesses to bring people together to honor their dreams.
Synopsis: British bus drivers spend one year creating a stage production of Ridley Scott's classic 1979 science fiction film "Alien."...
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Starring:
#43
Adjusted Score: 81109%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Scientists prepare to launch NASA's Webb Space Telescope, a massive machine that can peer more than 13 billion light-years into...
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#42
Adjusted Score: 78246%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Kid Candidate tells the story of Hayden Pedigo, a 24-year-old experimental musician and his unlikely run for city council in...
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#41
Adjusted Score: 82842%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Examining the life and career of indie filmmaking icon Kevin Smith. Featuring interviews with friends, family, filmmaking peers, and icons...
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#40
Adjusted Score: 89013%
Critics Consensus: Resting its slowly twisting tale on a magnetic Andrea Riseborough performance, Here Before is a solidly unsettling effort from debuting writer-director Stacey Gregg.
Synopsis: When a new family moves in next door, their young daughter, Megan, quickly captivates Laura, stirring up painful memories of...
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#39
Adjusted Score: 91192%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: A coming-of-middle-age film about a timid Filipino immigrant struggling with the care of an elderly parent while managing his first...
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#38
Adjusted Score: 93798%
Critics Consensus: Empathetic and well-acted, The Fallout uses the aftermath of teen trauma to grapple with the experience of grief.
Synopsis: Bolstered by new friendships forged under sudden and tragic circumstances, high schooler Vada (Jenna Ortega) begins to reinvent herself, while...
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#37
Adjusted Score: 88050%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Set in a dystopian near future in Rio de Janeiro, a lawyer (Alfred Enoch) sues the Brazilian government for reparation...
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#36
Adjusted Score: 86616%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: The film is an intimate portrait of three courageous female wrestlers (Luchadoras) from Ciudad Juarez. Despite being surrounded by machismo...
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#35
Adjusted Score: 83742%
Critics Consensus: With a hard fantasy story that stands in service of its eye-catching animation, The Spine of Night is a distinctive treat for genre enthusiasts.
Synopsis: In THE SPINE OF NIGHT, an ultra-violent fantasy epic, ancient dark magic falls into sinister hands and unleashes ages of...
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#34
Adjusted Score: 83930%
Critics Consensus: Traditional horror may not be on the menu, but for fans of the gruesomely disquieting, The Feast more than lives up to its name.
Synopsis: An affluent family gathers at their lavish home in the Welsh mountains for a dinner party, hosting a local businessman...
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#33
Adjusted Score: 92546%
Critics Consensus: A layered look at fame in the digital era, Lily Topples the World benefits immensely from a subject with an uplifting story and immense charm.
Synopsis: LILY TOPPLES THE WORLD follows 20-year-old sensation Lily Hevesh -- the world's most acclaimed domino toppler and the only girl...
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#32
Adjusted Score: 77255%
Critics Consensus: It's hard to ignore the parts that are left unexamined, but WeWork: Or the Making and Breaking of a $47 Billion Unicorn does well enough by its real-life stranger-than-fiction story.
Synopsis: WeWork: or The Making and Breaking of a $47 Billion Unicorn is a feature documentary that explores the rise and...
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#31
Adjusted Score: 90139%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Never-before-seen footage and interviews provide insight into the creative spirit of rocker Tom Petty as he works on his seminal...
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#30
Adjusted Score: 85581%
Critics Consensus: If its narrative ambitions aren't always equaled by its chilling visuals, Gaia remains an effective slice of ecological horror.
Synopsis: An injured forest ranger on a routine mission is saved by two off-the-grid survivalists. What is initially a welcome rescue...
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#29
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#28
Adjusted Score: 69764%
Critics Consensus: Led by strong performances from Jocelin Donahue and Melora Walters, Offseason is a solid supernatural horror story that casts a sneaky spell.
Synopsis: Upon receiving a mysterious letter that her mother's grave site has been vandalized, Marie quickly returns to the isolated offshore...
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#27
Adjusted Score: 83247%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: 1960s Chicago, a baby is kidnapped from a hospital. Fifteen months later, a toddler is abandoned. Could he be the...
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Starring:
#26
Adjusted Score: 38194%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: The Oxy Kingpins covers the untold story of how a network of pharmaceutical manufacturers, distributors, and retailers worked together to...
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Starring:
#25
Adjusted Score: 83248%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Desperate to send money to her family back in Haiti, hardworking and exhausted nurse Ludi Alcidor spends a chaotic day...
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#24
Adjusted Score: 87883%
Critics Consensus: Jakob's Wife gives genre legend Barbara Crampton an opportunity to carry an old-school horror story -- and she bloody well delivers.
Synopsis: Anne is married to a small-town minister and feels like her life and marriage have been shrinking over the past...
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#23
Adjusted Score: 65550%
Critics Consensus: The consistency isn't always smooth, but Sound of Violence's blend of character study and horror marks writer-director Alex Noyer as an ambitious, visually distinctive filmmaker.
#22
Adjusted Score: 63735%
Critics Consensus: Witch Hunt's smart social commentary is undercut by its lack of original storytelling ideas, but this supernatural horror outing has just enough bite to recommend for teens.
Synopsis: In a modern America where magic is real and witches are persecuted by US authorities, teenager Claire and her family...
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#21
Adjusted Score: 73116%
Critics Consensus: While it might have benefited from a subtler approach to its message, Women Is Losers is elevated by outstanding work from lead Lorenza Izzo.
Synopsis: In 1960's San Francisco, bright and talented catholic school girl Celina Guerrera (ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD's Lorenza Izzo)...
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#20
Adjusted Score: 92332%
Critics Consensus: Although it's undermined by uneven execution and a subpar script, Potato Dreams of America puts a singular spin on the crowded coming-of-age genre.
Synopsis: Wes Hurley's autobiographical dark comedy about a gay boy growing up in the collapsing USSR, his courageous mail-order bride mother...
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#19
Adjusted Score: 63735%
Critics Consensus: The End of Us approaches the breakup dramedy from an intriguingly timely angle, but its overall lack of new ideas undermines strong work from its charming stars.
Synopsis: A witty and timely comedy full of heart and humor. Cohabitating couple Nick and Leah are on the verge of...
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#18
Adjusted Score: 81364%
Critics Consensus: The Drover's Wife: The Legend of Molly Johnson occasionally struggles to cohere, but writer-director-star Leah Purcell offers a unique, compelling perspective on historic myths.
Synopsis: In 1893 on an isolated property, a heavily pregnant woman named Molly Johnson (Leah Purcell) and her children struggle to...
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#17
Adjusted Score: 70414%
Critics Consensus: Broadcast Signal Intrusion struggles to satisfactorily resolve its setup, but for much of its runtime, it offers an intriguing, well-acted diversion for horror fans.
Synopsis: While logging tapes of decades-old TV broadcasts, video archivist James (Harry Shum Jr.) discovers a surreal and disturbing clip that...
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#16
Adjusted Score: 85284%
Critics Consensus: Uneven yet admirably ambitious, Violet takes a thoughtful look at the occasionally profound difference between a person's private thoughts and public face.
Synopsis: What would you do if you weren't afraid? After realizing she's spent years allowing fear to drive every decision she...
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#15
Adjusted Score: 42030%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Two sisters (Baize Buzan and Allison Torem) go in search of a long-forgotten uncle....
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#14
Adjusted Score: 67223%
Critics Consensus: A silly bloody good time, Paul Dood's Deadly Lunch Break is an all-you-can-eat buffet not easily digestible for every stomach.
Synopsis: Paul, a weedy charity-shop worker, has his heart set on winning a national talent competition. With a sparkly suit, killer...
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98%
100%
42%
