15. “American Splendor” (2003)
The only comic book movie ever to win Sundance’s top prize (it’s based on the late Harvey Pekar’s autobiographic underground graphic novel), Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini’s film, originally backed by HBO, is an innovative and imaginative portrait of the lovably mistanthropic cartoonist (played brilliantly by Paul Giamatti) that deals head-on with the impossibility of ever accurately portraying someone in a movie. It’s genuinely illuminating and formally bold stuff, even if Pekar’s not always a pleasant figure to spend a couple of hours with.
14. “In the Soup” (1992)
A fond, offbeat little film that has proven the high point of director Alexandre Rockwell’s career so far, this self-consciously autobiographical story feels definitively Sundance. Following an aspiring screenwriter (Steve Buscemi) who fantasizes about Jennifer Beals’ Angelica, while the terrific Seymour Cassel plays the con man promising to finance the writer’s magnum opus, Stanley Tucci and spiritual forbearer Jim Jarmusch also appear. A few years later, Buscemi would star in the similarly themed Sundance title “Living in Oblivion,” but “In the Soup” is the crookeder, more heartfelt version, though in retrospect its win over “Reservoir Dogs” (Rockwell would go on to “Four Rooms” alongside Tarantino) seems generous.
13. “Ruby In Paradise” (1993)
A leisurely, careful character study undervalued by many, given that it premiered at the time when the festival was blowing up the likes of Tarantino and Rodriguez, “Ruby In Paradise” is a sweet, low-key drama, a sort of old fashioned ‘women’s picture’ in some ways, about a young woman (played by breakout Ashley Judd) attempting to build a life for herself in Florida. Gently and confidently helmed by Victor Nunez, it’s not a film where anything particularly earth-shattering happens, but anchored by a terrific performance by Judd, is one that’s worth sitting back and soaking in.
12. “What Happened Was” (1994)
An acclaimed stage actor and character actor favorite of Michael Mann, Spike Jonze, and Charlie Kaufman, among others (he’s best known as Francis Dollarhyde from Mann’s “Manhunter”), Tom Noonan made his directorial debut with “What Happened Was,” and it’s an arresting and powerful one. Based on his stage play, it follows an uneasy, twisting first date between Noonan’s paralegal and Karen Sillas’ secretary, that, while undoubtedly a chamber piece, is also firmly cinematic. The filmmaker pays carefully attention to the details and building mood like a horror film, though it’s a much more complex beast than that. Both actors are terrific, and the film feels like it paved the way for Neil LaBute’s movies, though it’s superior to anything he’s come up with so far.
11. “Whiplash” (2014)
Sure, Damien Chazelle’s now multi-Oscar-nominated film (the fourth Grand Jury Prize winner in six year to be up for Best Picture) might not be an especially accurate or loving portrayal of the jazz world, but that’s not even remotely the point. You could set this in an art school or a drama school, and you’d still have a story about a poisonous but productive mentor-pupil relationship, and a parable about the costs of pursuing greatness. That said, if it wasn’t about jazz drumming, you wouldn’t have the film’s furious drive and astonishing cutting either, with Chazelle conducting proceedings with a bullishness that belies that this is only his second feature. J.K. Simmons is likely to rightly win an Oscar next month, but one also shouldn’t overlook Miles Teller, who shifts subtly across the film and is never less than utterly convincing.
