By Jake Coyle, Film Writer
NEW YORK (AP) --The 17th annual Tribeca Film Festival opened Wednesday with pugnacious political words from Robert De Niro and the tender opening-night premiere, "Love, Gilda," an intimate celebration of the beloved comedian and former "Saturday Night Live" star Gilda Radner.
Lisa D'Apolito's documentary opened the New York festival in a star-studded screening at New York's Beacon Theatre that drew generations of "SNL" cast members, including original member Laraine Newman and Tina Fey, who poignantly introduced the film. "SNL" creator Lorne Michaels, Chevy Chase and Billy Crystal also came to see D'Apolito's documentary, which closely follows Radner's meteoric rise, her struggles with eating disorders and depression and her tragically young death from cancer, through readings from Radner's personal diaries.
Speaking for herself and "SNL" cast mates Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph and Rachel Dratch, Fey said Radner — a frizzy-haired force of genuine and joyous comic spirit — made an indelible impression on their generation of female performers.
"She was so authentically herself and so regular, in so many ways," said Fey, breaking up. "She was who she was on the TV. We all saw that and were like: 'I want to do that, and it's possible.' It was an early example to me of how important representation is for everyone from every walk of life. Gilda was our equivalent of Michelle Obama."
It was the second time in a handful of years that Tribeca turned to its fellow New York institution, "SNL," for opening night. In 2015, the documentary "Live From New York!" kicked off the festival. And it also came just days after De Niro, who co-founded Tribeca with his producing partner Jane Rosenthal, appeared on "SNL" as Special Counsel Robert Mueller in a sketch. Wednesday on the "Today" show, De Niro said he would like to reprise the part.
"I hope there's a couple where I interrogate him then I arrest him and then I escort him to jail," De Niro said, referring to President Donald Trump.
De Niro has been among the most vocal and bluntest of Trump's critics, frequently excoriating the president. He has, for example, previously said he'd like to punch Trump in the face. As the curtain went up on the 17th Tribeca, De Niro couldn't help using the festival's megawatt spotlight to direct his considerable ire at Trump.
At a kickoff luncheon for press, De Niro referred to Trump as "our Lowlife-in-Chief" and rejected what he referred to as the president's narrow definition of America.
"The country has had a bad year, and you — the press — have taken a lot of hits," De Niro told the reporters in attendance. "America is being run by a madman who wouldn't recognize the truth if it came inside a bucket of his beloved Colonel Sanders Fried Chicken."
Festival organizers said this year's Tribeca has been programmed with some of De Niro's fighting spirit.
"In the face of this inhumanity, we stand definitely against the forces that are tearing our country apart from the inside," said Jane Rosenthal, also a founder of the festival. "We stand with Time's Up, Never Again and Black Lives Matter and underserved voices."
Some elements of this year's Tribeca, which runs through April 29, are pointedly political. The closing night selection is Liz Garbus' "The Fourth Estate," an upcoming Showtime documentary series that captures The New York Times reporting on Trump's first year in office. The Jay-Z produced series "Rest in Power: The Travyon Martin Story" documents the 2012 shooting of the 17-year-old in Florida.
The festival will also hold a daylong Time's Up event on April 28, featuring hours of conversations with the initiative advocating for gender equality. Of the festival's 99 features, 46 percent are directed by women, the most in Tribeca's history. Rosenthal has credited that percentage in part with the makeup of Tribeca Enterprises, which she said is 80 percent female.
Ahead of the premiere, D'Apolito — a first-time director — spoke of her deep admiration for he groundbreaking subject.
"Even in the darkest of times," said D'Apolito, "she could find the funny in it."
Review: Director James Watkins’ “Speak No Evil”
Quick. Has there ever been a horror film set in a country home with a decent cell signal?
Nope, and there's no signal at Paddy and Ciara's house, either, deep in the English countryside. Soon, that land line will be cut, too, but we're getting ahead of ourselves.
Paddy and Ciara are that fun-but-somewhat-odd British couple whom Louise and Ben, early in "Speak No Evil," meet on their idyllic Tuscan family holiday. Americans based in London, Louise and Ben are at loose ends, with both job and relationship issues. And so, when the new acquaintances write to invite them for a country weekend, they decide to go.
After all, how bad could it be?
Don't answer that. There are many such moments in the first two-thirds of "Speak No Evil," a Hollywood remake of the 2022 Danish film, here starring a deeply menacing James McAvoy. Moments where Louise and Ben, out of mere politeness and social convention, act against their instincts, which tell them something is wrong – very wrong.
Director James Watkins and especially his excellent troupe of actors, adult and children alike, do a nice job of building the tension, slowly but surely. Until all bloody hell breaks loose, of course. And then, in its third act, "Speak No Evil" becomes an entertaining but routine horror flick, with predictable results.
But for a while, it's a way more intelligent film. And the jumpy moments work — I'll confess to literally springing out of my seat when someone uneventfully turned on a power drill.
We begin in stunning Tuscany, where Louise (Mackenzie Davis, in the film's most accessible and empathetic performance) and Ben (Scoot McNairy, all nerves and insecurity) are vacationing with 11-year-old daughter Agnes (Alix West Lefler). At the pool, they... Read More