2025 Sundance Film Festival Review

02/12/25 • 77 min

Is it too early to talk about next year’s Oscars when this year’s hasn’t even happened yet? The Sundance Film Festival says no. In fact, a handful of films that premiere there go on to compete in the awards race the following year. And unlike most other film festivals, Sundance offers online screenings for us civilians, which means we can actually review some films! P.T., Antonio, and I share our thoughts on the films that we saw, and then we break down reactions to the titles we weren’t able to see, notable acquisitions, and all the early Oscar buzz. Which film was so sad it made Jen angry? Which film’s weirdness delighted P.T. to no end? And which film tricked Antonio into thinking it would be a thriller? Listen to find out.

This entire episode is SPOILER FREE. Enjoy!

Image Credit: (clockwise from top left) Sundance, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, and Deadline

You can listen to The Long Take Review on Substack, Spotify, Apple, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.

All music licensed through Epidemic Sound.

Logo art: Illustration 73265080 © Worldofvector | Dreamstime.com

Get full access to The Long Take at thelongtake.substack.com/subscribe

This entire episode is SPOILER FREE. Enjoy!

Image Credit: (clockwise from top left) Sundance, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, and Deadline

You can listen to The Long Take Review on Substack, Spotify, Apple, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.

All music licensed through Epidemic Sound.

Logo art: Illustration 73265080 © Worldofvector | Dreamstime.com

Get full access to The Long Take at thelongtake.substack.com/subscribe

Previous Episode

A Complete Unknown Review

Find someone who looks at you the way everyone in A Complete Unknown looks at Timothee Chalamet playing Bob Dylan.

For James Mangold’s film, covering Dylan’s four-year journey from first arriving in New York City through “going electric” in 1965, one debate amongst critics centers on the representation of Bob Dylan’s genius: does the film fall into the stereotypical biopic trap of putting its subject on a pedestal, unabashedly touting his generational talent and nothing more? Or does Mangold offer a more nuanced, complicated story, subverting the tropes that he arguably codified in Walk The Line (2005), his film about country music star Johnny Cash?

In this episode of The Long Take Review, we start with this question, discussing how the film does and does not adhere to its genre conventions. The conversation, however, sprawls many other topics, including the infighting between Dylan and more traditional folk artists, the historical accuracy of events portrayed in the film, what the film might be saying about Dylan’s artistry and legacy, how many Oscars it could win, and more.

We go into SPOILER MODE at the 21:04 minute mark. If you are still undecided as to whether or not you want to go on tour with us, you can listen safely until then.

Image Credit: BBC

You can listen to The Long Take Review on Substack, Spotify, Apple, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.

All music licensed through Epidemic Sound.

Logo art: Illustration 73265080 © Worldofvector | Dreamstime.com

Get full access to The Long Take at thelongtake.substack.com/subscribe

Next Episode

100th Episode Special!

It’s hard to believe, but The Long Take Review podcast has made it to 100 episodes! To commemorate this milestone, P.T., Greg, Antonio, and I take a break from our Oscar season coverage to ask each other some probing questions, both about the films we have covered during the first 100 episodes and more generally about our filmgoing lives. What has been our most memorable theatrical experience? What unpopular film would we defend? What film have we covered that we most associate with the other co-hosts? And if we were casting the pod, who would be in the ensemble? Find out our answers to these and so much more. This was very fun to record and confirmed for us how joyful and meaningful it has been making this show every week.

Image Credit: LA Times, New York Times

You can listen to The Long Take Review on Substack, Spotify, Apple, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.

All music licensed through Epidemic Sound.

Logo art: Illustration 73265080 © Worldofvector | Dreamstime.com

Get full access to The Long Take at thelongtake.substack.com/subscribe