Again this year, Denver Film Festival artistic director Brit Withey is offering his must-see picks for each day of the fest — including many flicks that movie lovers might otherwise miss amid the flood of silver-screen goodies. Today he spotlights a selection for November 2: The Party.
The Party
Directed by Sally Potter
9:15 p.m. Thursday, November 2
Sie FilmCenter
"The Party is a dark comedy with a great cast," says DFF artistic director Brit Withey. "Kristin Scott Thomas, Patricia Clarkson, Cillian Murphy are in it. But it's also a small film — and by that, I mean it all takes place in this one little townhome, almost entirely in the living room. There's a bit in the kitchen and in the back yard, but it's very spare location-wise."
As a result, the focus is on the players.
"The premise is that the character played by Kristin Scott Thomas has been elected to a seat as a Parliament member, and they're throwing a party. But everything goes wrong almost immediately; it all starts going downhill."
Here's the trailer for The Party:
"The main character's husband has terminal cancer, and then there's a discovery about an affair — and suddenly, there are something like six people at the party who start confessing these horrible things."
Nonetheless, Withey stresses that "it's really funny, although it's a dark comedy, for sure. By the end of the night, everyone has gone down a very dark path. It's not a very fun party for them, but it definitely is for us."
He also concedes that "it's a very talky piece, but it's all about the dialogue and the acting, which is just phenomenal in the movie. And the writing is great."
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