SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL: Day 5

That Ricci Girl Again

Having braved the cloudy, snowy day, I grabbed a quick hot chocolate and then it was off to see the 8.30 screening, of dark comedy/thriller Miranda, a British entry, from director Marc Munden. The film reveals the sexy side of Sundance’s new Indie princess Christina Ricci.

A librarian (John Simm) begins a passionate affair with a mysterious woman (Ricci) who walks into his library. When she suddenly disappears he travels down to London to search for her only to discover that she has three separate identities - a dancer, a dominatrix and a con-woman. But which one is the real Miranda?

A film about illusion and first impressions, Miranda affords the Ricci to be bold, vulnerable, sexy and childlike, all in one extraordinary character.

The 21-year-old Ricci delivers her first real womanly performance and fans of the petite actress will be mesmerised. Simm is also a rare find as the librarian whose life dramatically changes when Miranda enters his world. Kyle MacLachlan has a hilarious turn as a seedy businessman who lusts after Miranda.

I caught up with Ricci later for an interview. Smoking all the way through she talked about how the indie scene had given her chances to play strong, interesting young women. She also spoke about her upcoming directorial debut, Speed Queen. “That’s a film that suits my sensibilities and should work well if I do it right,“ she explained.

When I later met Robin Williams he was his funny-but-incredibly-serious-and-down-to-earth self, sharing some of the psychological preparations for One Hour Photo. He is determined to do something different - his next film, Death to Smoochie, he describes as “a real wild movie, completely off-the-wall.” The Oscar-winner also spoke with passion about Christopher Nolan’s Insomnia. “I play a murderer to Pacino’s cop.”

It was a great interview to end the day.

Then it was off for a civilised Chinese meal with a fellow journo before heading off to see Human Nature, a disjointed part-farce, part-black comedy about a love triangle involving an apeman of sorts.

Human Nature follows the ups and downs of an obsessive scientist, a female naturalist, and the man they discover, born and raised in the wild. As scientist Nathan (Tim Robbins) trains the wild man, Puff (Rhys Ifans) in the ways of the world - starting with table manners - Nathan's lover Lila (Patricia Arquette) fights to preserve the man's ape-like past. It’s a hard film to define, and while it has its moments, the film isn’t helped by a sluggish performance by Tim Robbins.

Patricia Arquette gives a brave performance while Miranda Otto and Ifans are the film’s comic stars and perform beautifully. Human Nature is a haphazard film, acutely aware of its own obvious eccentricities.