Sundance Film Festival 2023: 20 Movies You Need To Know About
7. Landscape With Invisible Hand
Cory Finley's (Thoroughbreds, Bad Education) third feature is something completely different - a shift into outright genre film territory as Finley adapts M.T. Anderson's 2017 novel of the same name.
Landscape with Invisible Hand's aggressively weird approach to a typical alien invasion story won't rub everyone the right way, but open-minded audiences just might connect with its pointed - if unsubtle - social commentary.
In this dystopian future, the aliens haven't so much enslaved the human race as they have further commodified the human experience, creating an even wider divide between the wealthy and poor.
But the alien race, the Vuvv, remain curious about human love, and will pay anyone who agrees to livestream their romance for their education and entertainment. And that's just what our teenage protagonists (Asante Blackk and Kylie Rogers) do in an attempt to lift their families out of poverty.
If uneven at times, Finley's film takes some brave, left-field swings that damn-near guarantee it'll end up a cult classic in the years to come.
Between the bold script, surprisingly impressive VFX, and killer cast - also including Tiffany Haddish and Michael Gandolfini - there's a lot for adventurous viewers to like here.
Landscape with Invisible Hand is currently seeking distribution.