REVIEW: Josh Mond's James White

Josh Mond makes his directorial debut with an appropriately moody project about troubled youth (considering his previous experience
working as a producer on extreme tales of psychos and cults).

However, James White — which won the Best of Next Audience Award at Sundance — is easier to relate to than the extreme tales of psychos and cults on which Mond previously worked on as a producer. The story focuses on an appealing twentysomething New Yorker who is dealing with the death of his estranged father and the stage-4 brain cancer of his mother (beautifully portrayed by Cynthia Nixon), and he copes by escaping into a self-medicated world of sex and parties. As a character study, the film is carried on the back of its handsome lead, Christopher Abbott (best known as Charlie on HBO’s Girls). He gives a strong, nuanced performance — as does Nixon, who portrays a woman dying of brain tumors with terrifying accuracy and grace. THE WORD: A score of jazz-diva classics is contrasted with tense electronic noise, and close-up jump-cutting camera work keep you engaged in this intriguing slice-of-a-life at a crossroads. COMING TO: Theaters