A Wounded Fawn
Director Travis Stevens’ new feature A Wounded Fawn starts off in the world of high-end art and winds up in the depths of a serial killer’s mind, taking concepts from Greek mythology along for the entire ride. The result is a superb blend of supernatural and psychological horror from the man who helmed Jakob’s Wife and Girl on the Third Floor. Meredith (Sara Lind) has successfully gotten out of and over an abusive relationship, and she is ready to test the dating waters once again. Unfortunately, unbeknownst to her, the man she plans to spend the weekend with at his remote cabin is Bruce Ernst (Josh Rubin), who is revealed at the beginning of the film to be a murderer. Meredith becomes suspicious of Ernst when she sees an art piece at his home depicting The Erinyes — also known as The Furies — that just recently passed through the auction house where she works. Seasoned fear-fare fans may try to guess where the film is headed, but Stevens takes things in an audacious, blood-soaked direction, culminating in a third act that is a true trip, with a stunning payoff. A Wounded Fawn boasts a shot-on-film 1970s vibe that only adds to the unique, dizzying feel of the film, which is destined for a place on this reviewer’s Best of 2022 list.
Rounding
A reflection on grief, loss, atonement, and trying to make up for past mistakes, director Alex Thompson’s Rounding finds Doctor James Hayman (Namir Smallwood) transferring from a large city hospital to a quieter, more rural one after suffering a nervous breakdown at the first facility because of the death of a patient. Now emotionally distanced and fully lacking in any bedside manner, Hayman is resentful of the fact that head physician Dr. Emil Harrison (Michael Potts) sends him to an acting class to improve his rapport with patients. Something is haunting Hayman, and his increasingly worsening ankle injury and obsessive interest in a case involving a 19-year-old asthma patient (Sidney Flanigan as Helen Adso) and her mother (Rebecca Spence as Karen) aren’t helping matters. Both supernatural and psychological horrors come into play, and Thompson does a fine job of keeping viewers guessing about exactly what is happening to Hayman, and how reliable of a protagonist he truly is. Although all of the cast members give memorable turns, Smallwood’s performance as a troubled, anguished man trying to move on with his life after a tragedy is an outstanding one that drives the film.
A Wounded Fawn and Rounding screen as part of Tribeca Festival, which takes place June 8–19, 2022 in New York City, with At Home virtual content. For more information, visit https://tribecafilm.com/films/wounded-fawn-2022 and https://tribecafilm.com/films/rounding-2022.
