I've driven through Columbus, IN a lot. It's the exit I used to get to Bloomington, where I went to college. Every time I traveled home from college and every time I visit friends there now, I pass through Columbus. I always thought the red arch on the interstate overpass for the city was a little odd, but I never thought much more about it. As it turns out, that city is fairly famous for its modern architecture. That's pretty cool.
I was excited to see this for a lot of reasons. The Columbus, IN connection was a big plus. It came highly recommended on Filmspotting, which I've been listening to a lot lately along with general critical support overall. I think I've established my love of Sundance movies by now. John Cho I've loved for years and Haley Lu Richardson I've liked since The Edge of Seventeen. Overall, Columbus is a pretty textbook Sundance movie. It's about two outsiders who talk a lot and reflect on their lives, including a few big revelations. They both have troubled families. It's mostly dramatic with some moments of levity. It's a degree or two better in just about every respect though than the average Sundance movie. Koganada's direction, with all the long, still shots that let you soak in the architecture, is understated. John Cho and Haley Lu Richardson have an easy chemistry. The movie thankfully doesn't try to turn this into a romance. I mean, it kind of does because it's a Sundance movie and it can't help itself, but that's not the ultimate goal and focus of the movie. While Cho and Richardson's family lives are a mess, the movie doesn't try to milk that for effect. Richardson's mother is a recovering addict and Cho's father goes into the coma at the beginning of the movie. It's more about catching these two people at <Sundance trope alert> a crossroads in their lives. I fell just short of loving this movie. It's certainly better than I would've expected though and worth recommending to anyone who finds themselves watching a lot of small Sundance movies anyway.
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