The Best and Worst Films at SXSW 2017
The 2017 edition of South by Southwest wrapped up its film program last night, and the 10 days of premieres produced some welcome hits (with five films scoring 81 or higher) as well as some surprising misses.
Below, our editors have picked out the most notable films debuting at the festival, and sampled the critical consensus for each one. You can also find bonus reviews for a handful of television shows that premiered at SXSW (though not the highly anticipated upcoming series American Gods, since Starz has embargoed reviews until April 17th).
The final film to debut at the festival, Daniel Espinosa's (Safe House) new sci-fi thriller is “lean, mean, and terrifying,” according to Drew Taylor of The Playlist. Jake Gyllenhaal, Ryan Reynolds, Rebecca Ferguson, Hiroyuki Sanada, Ariyon Bakare, and Olga Dihovichnaya star as crew members aboard the International Space Station who come into contact with extraterrestrial life.
Variety’s Peter Debruge finds Life to be “mostly-smart, plenty-stylish,” and “far better than the trailers made this me-too outer-space opus look” if you “overlook its inevitable wah-wah ending (cue sad trombone sound effect).” Expect more reviews later this week as we approach Friday's nationwide release.
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