Delayed Reaction: The Wolfpack

The Pitch: A documentary about seven siblings, secluded from the world, who use their love of movies to keep them going.

How I Came Into It: This was one of the documentaries that came out of Sundance this year that I heard the most about. One of those where you don't entirely believe the concept going in.

Why I Saw It: It's about these seven siblings who live in New York. Their father is super protective and almost never let them out of the house. They have access to hundreds of movies and bond over a love of them. They shoot line for line remakes of their favorite films with homemade props and costumes. They are a deeply fascinating family. It's hard to believe that director Crystal Moselle found them at all, given their seclusion. She manages to start following them just as they are just starting to leave the apartment and experience the city for the first time (first time at the beach, first movie in a theater, etc.).

Why I Wish I Hadn't: This family is more interesting than the documentary. I have so many questions about them that simply aren't covered. At one point, then reference a SWAT team breaking into the house, suspecting they had weapons in there. That's barely explored. That happens several times. Moselle occasionally starts going down paths, then pulls back before fully exploring them. I imagine this was a beast to edit down to only 90 minutes. It feels edited. Even though documentaries aren't written in the traditional sense, they should still be telling a story. Overall, this is an impressive debut for this filmmaker.

Verdict (?): Weakly Recommend