Citing both John Cassavetes and Mike Leigh as influences, Lawrence Michael Levine’s film is thus naturally both a dramatic and structural experiment. Driven by an expansive cast of a who’s-who of New York’s independent filmmaking talent, Gabi on the Roof in July is unpredictable, alive, and true.
We know what you’re thinking, “but I haven’t seen the first Uncle Kent” (or perhaps “what is Uncle Kent?”), but don’t fret—this is an entirely standalone film. A happily egregious sequel to end all sequels, Todd Rohal’s film is a welcome cocktail of sincere absurdity and filmmaking as playfulness.
Recalling such classics as Persona and Mulholland Drive, Sophia Takal’s feverish chamber piece is drawn to the inner life of actresses. Unnervingly compelling as onscreen frenemies, Mackenzie Davis and Caitlin Fitzgerald tease out the dark currents of female bonding with their combative chemistry.