Riley Stearns is one of those directors that I’ve only recently discovered. His deadpan comedy and lack of self-seriousness is something that I admire quite a bit, and while many of his movies often stay within the same lane and consist of a similar tone, it’s a concoction that few other directors have been able to achieve as successfully.
The first movie of his I saw was The Art of Self-Defense. As someone beginning to dip his toes in more rigorous, auteur filmmaking, I gravitated towards the actors and filmmakers I knew I liked. One of those is Jesse Eisenberg (When You Finish Saving The World, A Real Pain), who stars in Stearns‘ sophomore movie. Eisenberg’s approach to the character is equally as calculated as a few of his other best performances (Zuckerberg in The Social Network comes to mind), but the style matches his intensity as well.
His other two features, Dual and Faults, are often funny, cynical, and mysterious at the same time. He manages to draw committed performances from the unlikeliest of actors (Mary Elizabeth Winstead in Faults and Aaron Paul in Dual come to mind), while dropping his characters in ridiculous circumstances.
So while he may not be the most popular or well-known director, Riley Stearns has quickly developed a unique style and approach to storytelling over only three films. Here’s to hoping that Stearns can continue to tinker with that style for years to come.
3. Faults (2014)
Faults (2014) is par for the course for Riley Stearns. It has many of the thematic and tonal beats that he’s dove deeper into with each film that passes. It doesn’t nearly scratch every itch that his other two films do, but I still wound up being enthralled with the story and world he builds within the beige walls of those motel rooms. I imagine he’ll keep adventuring further and further out of them with each feature he directs.
Read Cinephile Corner’s review of Faults.
2. Dual (2022)
While Dual (2022) doesn’t elevate nearly to the level of some the year’s best films, it is another solid entry for Riley Stearns as a writer and director. Karen Gillan (Guardians of the Galaxy, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle) and Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad, Mission: Impossible III) are a unique billing on paper, and their dry chemistry and delivery perfectly serve a film meant to challenge and puncture a viewer. Of course, Dual has to package many of its questions and concerns for human existence in a gawky and tongue-in-cheek, Rocky-like combat film, but it fills in many of the gaps in-between its few action set pieces.
Read Cinephile Corner’s review of Dual.
1. The Art of Self-Defense (2019)
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