I’ve always been a big fan of historical films. Even when they are a little fast and lose with the truth (Braveheart I’m talking to you) often they inspire me to do the actual research on the historical figures and that’s a fun experience to take part in. I particularly love American history especially in places I’ve been to and lived in. The latest example that is premiering at Tribeca Film Festival is Young Washington about the formative early years of our first president George Washington. Not only did this movie inspire me to learn more about Washington but I found it thoroughly entertaining as a piece of blockbuster filmmaking.

To be honest, I have actually seen Young Washington 3 times already because I ended up doing 3 interviews which will be coming closer to the wide release on Hallmarkies Podcast. I also was so inspired by the movie that I wanted to learn more and read Ron Chernow’s captivating book (ad) called Washington: A Life. I highly recommend this book and the movie too!

Young Washington is directed by Jon Erwin and starts with Washington as a child after the death of his father when he was 11 and follows him through the French and Indian war, the disaster at Fort Necessity and Washington’s courageous stand with the Virginia Regiment in 1758. This was all done extremely effectively in the film. It’s particularly impressive with the small budget ($20-$35 million is what I read) I was especially impressed with the Fort Necessity sequence which was as captivating as it was devastating.

The cast Erwin has assembled is also excellent. William Franklyn-Miller is endearing and easy to relate with as Washington and he is surrounded by talent such as Mary-Louise Parker as his mother, Kelsey Grammar as Thomas Fairfax and Andy Serkis as Edward Braddock. The movie does expand on the truth with the romance Washington had with Sally Fairfax who in real life was the wife of one of his friends but it’s a small part of the film so not a big problem.

After reading Chernow’s book I am even more impressed with the historical accuracy of many of the scenes in Young Washington. Like I said, they don’t expand upon much and it also doesn’t feel like American propaganda. Afterall, we are seeing Washington at his greatest failure, literally surrendering because of partly his failure of leadership. His other weaknesses are mainly foibles of youth in the film but if anything that makes him easier to relate with than if he was portrayed as some paragon of virtue.

This summer we have the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence and I can’t think of a better way to celebrate such an event than watching Young Washington. Hopefully you’ll be as entertained by it as I was and it will also inspire you to learn more about Washington and other Founding Fathers. At the very least it’s a rousing reminder that even our greatest heroes start out as young men and women brimming with potential.

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One of the most ever-present questions about human nature is that of nature vs nurture. How much of who we are is innate to our beings and how much is pushed out of us by those that teach, parent and nurture us? Nobody knows for sure but at the very least teachers and others in authority can have power to draw us to different choices and convince us to go against our nature. This power has been explored in many films most recently in the Oscar winning film Whiplash. Now director Sophia Takal has taken Whiplash into the world of acting in her tight little thriller Act One.

Instead of drumming, in Act One we have acting as our talent of choice and young Hannah dreams of becoming a great actress. She wants to be a serious actress, and her mother is less than supportive of what she see’s as a silly career choice. Instead Hannah turns to an acting coach named Melanie who takes method acting to a whole new level. Melanie’s teaching is especially manipulative because she can defend anything as the cost of getting into character. Anyone who doesn’t participate fully is not as committed to the roles and the transformative experience of becoming a character. Of course this is a ridiculous reason to participate in toxic even criminal behavior but then again Hannah is young and inexperienced (even more so than Andrew in Whiplash who was at least in college.)

The main strength of this film is in Takal’s script. We can all relate to the draw of perfecting ones art and the intoxicating appeal of just the right kind of praise. Controlling people often know what to say to get insecure people to make one small step down the road of dedication to their cult. This is made even more powerful when fellow drama class member becomes Hannah’s sexual partner and Melanie uses that vulnerability to gain more power over her students.

Oddly enough in a movie about acting the performances in Act One are probably the weakest aspect. Ella Beatty plays Hannah and she captures the mousy nature of the character but Ari Graynor was less convincing as Melanie. The rest of the performances are more amateur in feel but as the movie is about amateur actors I suppose it fits well enough.

Still, like I said, the script is where this film shines as I was enthralled to see what was going to happen to Hannah next and if she would get out of this maddening spiral. Act One is playing June 10, 12, 13th at the festival and worthy of your time.

Covering festivals is not easy and small sites like Rachel’s Reviews need help to provide such extensive coverage of film and theatre. Make sure you check out the patreon for perks, exclusive reviews and to be part of our monthly events and watch-alongs. If you value honest criticism, check it out. Find out more here.