Slow Machine
Paul Felten, Joe DeNardo
2020
72 minutes
Description
Stephanie, a restless and vibrant actress, meets Gerard, an NYPD counter-terrorism specialist who’s an aficionado of experimental theater (and maybe out of his mind). Flirtation ensues, ends disastrously, and forces Stephanie to the ramshackle upstate home of musician Eleanor Friedberger, yet this supposed escape is infected by violent memories of her past life. Directed by Paul Felten and Joe DeNardo, and starring Stephanie Hayes, Chloë Sevigny, Scott Shepherd and Eleanor Friedberger, SLOW MACHINE is a miniature epic of paranoia, espionage, subterfuge, music, and performance captured on lush and invigorating 16mm.
Reviews
“Critic’s Pick! A mysterious New York thriller. One of this year’s most mesmerizing movies. Films of such lo-fi aesthetics rarely feel this major.” – Kristen Yoonsoo Kim, The New York Times
“Essential. Brilliant. It’s rare that a new American film feels genuinely alive with possibility from beginning to end. Pulsates with kinetic energy. A beautiful reminder of what it’s like to be properly throttled by an unexpected cinematic jolt.” – Glen Heath Jr., The Film Stage
“Grade: A-. A paranoid thriller with a distinct lo-fi vibe. Compulsively watchable.” – Vikram Murthi, A.V. Club
“Wild and mesmerizing. Kind of like a lo-fi, Brooklyn variant of David Lynch's Inland Empire.”
— Giovanni Marchini Camia, Filmmaker Magazine
