Joe Berlinger, Jesse Misskelley, Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Bruce Sinofsky. Photo by Godlis.
Last night's unforgettable screening of Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory with an emotional Q&A with the directors and the West Memphis Three in person leads the NYFF press coverage for the day. Rush tickets will be available to tonight's 6:15pm screening of the film in the Walter Reade Theater, which will include a Q&A with the directors and members of the West Memphis Three's legal team. This event is not to be missed!
Jason Guerrasio of Filmmaker Magazine enthusiastically writes about last night's newly-edited Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory screening and the West Memphis Three's appearance for the Q&A:
“Undoubtedly the most memorable moment of the evening didn’t happen on screen but as the credits rolled. While the theater was still dark and Metallica — a staple through all three films — blasting through the speakers, a stoplight shed light on the balcony to show Berlinger and Sinofsky standing next to Echols, Misskelley and Baldwin as they waved to the crowd.”
Lucas Kavner from The Huffington Post reports on the emotional reunion of West Memphis Three for the Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory screening at HBO headquarters in New York City:
“The emotional impact of their reunion was palpable. Only three months ago, Echols was still sentenced to death, and Baldwin and Misskelley were looking at a life in prison, despite new DNA evidence that proved none of the men were present at the original scene of the crime. At an earlier screening, as part of the New York Film Festival, filmmakers Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky said it was deeply troubling that it took 18 years, millions of dollars and “three well-funded documentaries” to make a dent in the case.”
Slant Magazine's Kenji Fujishima praises Jody Lee Lipes's fine work as a cinematographer in Martha Marcy May Marlene:
“The Lipes touch is put to especially effective use in Martha Marcy May Marlene, Durkin's unnerving examination of the mental state of Martha (Elizabeth Olsen), a recent runaway from a cult led by Patrick (John Hawkes). Lipes's camera seems to dissect her every move with each long take; the settings are lit in ways that lend a consistently ominous, chilly air to even the most mundane of proceedings; the omniscient feel of each shot and cut feels almost Kubrickian in its near-clinical precision.” h
Peter Knegt from indieWIRE includes Melancholia's Kirsten Dunst and Charlotte Gainsbourg in his list of “13 Underdog Actresses That Deserve Oscar’s Attention This Year”:
“The two play sisters intimately facing the apocalypse in very different ways, and—like almost any performance by a lead actress in a von Trier film—their work is hard to shake even weeks later”
Video: Martha Marcy May Marlene director Sean Durkin narrates a scene for The New York Times.
New York Post film critic Lou Lumenick praises Michelle Willams's performance in My Week with Marilyn as Oscar-worthy:
“Scheduled to hit theaters Nov. 4 after its world premiere at the New York Film Festival on Sunday night, this film is basically an entertaining, lightweight romantic fantasy. Advance Oscar buzz about Williams’ layered and touching work is correct, though: She may resemble Monroe less than many impersonators, but Williams gets under the skin of the troubled yet manipulative screen icon in a way no one else has.”
