Nasty Baby
| Nasty Baby | |
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 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Sebastián Silva |
| Written by | Sebastián Silva |
| Produced by |
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| Starring |
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| Cinematography | Sergio Armstrong |
| Edited by | Sofía Subercaseaux |
| Music by | |
Production companies |
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| Distributed by | The Orchard |
Release dates |
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Running time | 101 minutes[1] |
| Countries |
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| Languages |
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| Box office | $79,800[2] |
Nasty Baby is a 2015 Chilean-American drama film written and directed by Sebastián Silva and starring Kristen Wiig, Silva, and Tunde Adebimpe alongside Reg E. Cathey, Mark Margolis, Agustín Silva, Alia Shawkat, Lillias White, and Anthony Chisholm.
The film premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival and was screened in the Panorama section of the 65th Berlin International Film Festival,[3][4] where it was named winner of the Teddy Award for best LGBT-themed feature film.[5] The film was released on October 23, 2015, in a limited release, before being released on video on demand on October 30, 2015, by The Orchard.[6]
Plot
The film follows the journey of Freddy and Mo, a gay couple who are struggling to conceive a child. They turn to their friend Polly for help, but despite several attempts, they are unsuccessful due to Freddy's low sperm count. Eventually, Mo reluctantly agrees to be the donor, and Polly successfully becomes pregnant.
As they navigate the challenges of pregnancy and parenthood, the trio becomes the target of a mentally unstable man known as The Bishop. Despite their initial attempts to be friendly with him, The Bishop reveals himself to be aggressively homophobic and begins to harass Polly.
One night, The Bishop violently assaults Polly, and the situation escalates when a police officer becomes involved. In the midst of all this chaos, Freddy's performance art project, "Nasty Baby," is rejected, and The Bishop follows him home.
In a desperate attempt to defend himself, Freddy strikes The Bishop with a six-pack of beer, which results in a fatal injury. Fearing the consequences of their actions, the trio decides to dispose of the body in the woods.
Cast
- Kristen Wiig as Polly
- Sebastián Silva as Freddy
- Tunde Adebimpe as Mo
- Reg E. Cathey as The Bishop
- Mark Margolis as Richard
- Agustín Silva as Chino
- Alia Shawkat as Wendy
- Lillias White as Cecilia
- Anthony Chisholm as David, Mo's father
- Constance Shulman as The Bishop's girlfriend
- Neal Huff as Gallery owner
- Judy Marte as Battered woman
- Cara Seymour as Nosy neighbor
Production
On August 14, 2013, it was announced Kristen Wiig was in talks to join the film, and that Sebastian Silva would direct the film as well as star alongside Tunde Adebimpe.[7]
Principal photography took place in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, New York City.
Release
The film was originally rejected by Toronto International Film Festival in 2014, since the festival did not like the film's ending.[8] The film instead had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 24, 2015.[9] Shortly after it was announced The Orchard had acquired distribution rights to the film.[10]
The film was released in a limited release on October 23, 2015, before being released on video on demand on October 30, 2015.[11]
Critical reception
The film holds a 66% score on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 38 reviews, with an average rating of 6.4/10. The critical consensus reads "Nasty Baby juggles an ambitious array of tones, and not always successfully -- but its talented cast and surprising narrative twists leave a lingering impression."[12] On Metacritic, the film holds a rating of 64 out of 100, based on 15 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[13]
Writing for The A.V. Club, Mike D'Angelo gave the film a C for its plodding pacing and the abrupt third act which "neither emerges organically from the skeletal narrative nor thematically dovetails with the other storylines in any way" but praised Wiig's performance.[14]
See also
References
- ^ "Nasty Baby (15)". British Board of Film Classification. March 1, 2016. Retrieved March 2, 2016.
- ^ "Nasty Baby (2015)". Box Office Mojo. Internet Movie Database. Retrieved December 1, 2015.
- ^ Banh, An (January 31, 2015). "Sundance Review: Sebastian Silva's Tense 'Nasty Baby' is a Subversive Delight". Indiewire. Retrieved February 1, 2015.
- ^ "Panorama 65th Berlinale". Berlinale. Archived from the original on February 14, 2015. Retrieved January 18, 2015.
- ^ «Nasty Baby» gewinnt Teddy-Filmpreis. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, February 14, 2015.
- ^ Kevin Jagernauth (August 27, 2015). "Watch: First Trailer For Sebastian Silva's 'Nasty Baby' S - The Playlist". The Playlist. Archived from the original on August 29, 2015. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
- ^ "Kristen Wiig in Talks for Indie 'Nasty Baby' With TV on the Radio Singer Tunde Adebimpe (Exclusive)". TheWrap. August 14, 2013.
- ^ Nigel M Smith (February 18, 2015). "Sebastian Silva on Why Toronto Rejected 'Nasty Baby' and - Indiewire". Indiewire.
- ^ An Banh (January 31, 2015). "Sundance Review: Sebastian Silva's Tense 'Nasty Baby' is - Indiewire". Indiewire.
- ^ "The Orchard Acquires Distribution Rights to "Nasty Baby"". The Orchard.
- ^ "Things get weird in the trailer for Kristen Wiig-starring Nasty Baby". avclub.com. August 27, 2015.
- ^ "Nasty Baby (2015)". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved March 2, 2016.
- ^ "Nasty Baby reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved December 1, 2015.
- ^ D'Angelo, Mike (October 22, 2015). "Nasty Baby · Film Review". The A.V. Club.
