The Best Movies Complex Saw at the Tribeca Film Festival

This year, like any another, the Tribeca Film Festival offered tons of new indie films to watch. From horrors to dramedies to political documentaries, the festival catered to moviegoers with a slew of varying tastes. However, this year, unlike any other, the festival seemed more jam-packed with sure-fire hits, ranging from hard-edged British prison drama Starred Up to the sweet, likable comedy Life Partners.

With over a hundred films in the lineup, it was surely difficult to catch all of the greatness. However, out of the dozens we did get to check out, these were the standouts. These are the best movies Complex saw at the Tribeca Film Festival.

For more of Complex Pop Culture's Tribeca coverage, click here.

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Director: Charlie McDowell
Stars: Mark Duplass, Elisabeth Moss, Ted Danson

The One I Love is a difficult film to write about without giving up its goods, but let's give it a shot here. A fantastical spin on the tired romantic comedy genre, first-time director Charlie McDowell's film... Dammit, "fantastical" is somewhat of a spoiler. OK, let's start over—beginning like many other rom-coms, The One I Love unfolds in ways that will make fans of Rod Serling and his timeless Twilight Zone series want to stand up and... Whoops, an even bigger failure to remain tight-lipped there.

Hopefully, though, you're intrigued now. And if you are, here's the nutshell plot set-up for McDowell's funny, original, and refreshingly ambitious riff on a familiar kind of comedy movie. Ethan (Mark Duplass) and Sophie (Elisabeth Moss) are struggling to keep their marriage intact, so on the recommendation of their therapist (Ted Danson), they head to a secluded house surrounded by gorgeous scenery to have alone time and work through their problems. And from there, McDowell and screenwriter Justin Lader use creative means to grapple with love's inevitable twilight phase, when those once-burning flames fizzle out and complacency breeds contempt.

To see why "fantastical" and "Twilight Zone" apply, keep an eye out for The One I Love when it opens theatrically in August. —Matt Barone

Director: David Mackenzie
Stars: Jack O'Connell, Ben Mendelsohn, Rupert Friend

It'd be somewhat impossible to make a light-hearted jail film, lest it be something like the disposable and silly 2006 comedy Let's Go to Prison. The environment behind bars is too raw and too dangerous to translate into anything other than, when handled by talented writers and directors, a film as provocative and visceral as the French knockout A Prophet (2009).

With the British knockout Starred Up, though, the bar for prison dramas has been raised enormously. More so a heart-ripping father/son drama than a straight-up men-in-prison story, director David Mackenzie's exceptional film centers on new inmate Eric (Jack O'Connell), an uncontrollable hell-raiser who's just as destructive as Tom Hardy's Bronson character but much younger and tragic. Eric's already trying life in the pen gets exacerbated once his long-time inmate father, Nev (Ben Mendelsohn), begins to pry his way back into his estranged son's world.

An all-around brilliant film, Starred Up is most notable for giving Jack O'Connell the chance to show and prove, and, boy, does he. Heavily in demand in Hollywood these days (he's the lead Angelina Jolie's next Oscar-baiting movie as a director, Unbroken), the 23-year-old Englishman roars through scenes with a fascinating blend of Anton Yelchin's boyish looks and Tom Hardy's explosive physicality. —Matt Barone

Director: Susanna Fogel
Stars: Leighton Meester, Gillian Jacobs, Adam Brody, Mark Feuerstein, Gabourey Sidibe, Abby Elliott

If you told us Leighton Meester and Gillian Jacobs were longtime BFFs, we'd 100% believe you. Their chemistry on screen is like watching Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, Bert and Ernie, Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer, Ben Affleck and Matt—okay, you get the idea. They fit, they finish each other sentences, and they're so comfortable playing with each other that you forget you're watching a movie. Hell, it's like they forget they're in movie.

Which makes them perfect life partners for Life Partners. In the film, Leighton Meester's Sasha is the wayward burnout who can't commit to a girlfriend (nor a job) to Gillian Jacobs' Paige, the career-oriented one with her shit together. They're content spending their nights watching Top Model on the couch together, until Paige's new boyfriend-turned-fiance (Adam Brody) cockblocks their friendship.

Thus, Susanna Fogel's sweet and uncomfortably relatable movie is all about asking the question: Does growing up mean growing apart? Sure, you can live your own life to figure that out yourself, but we recommend just seeing the film. It's quicker and less emotionally scarring. —Tara Aquino

Director: Keith Miller
Stars: James 'Primo' Grant, John Diaz

Hood movies, of course, can be amazing—think Boyz n the Hood, Menace II Society, and Juice (which certainly deserves mention alongside those more commonly praised classics). In movies like those, though, it's always very clearly actors portraying the street kids. You know Cuba Gooding, Jr., Omar Epps, and Larenz Tate are professionally trained screen performers. Each film's realism can only go so far.

Writer-director Keith Miller, however, figured out a way to overcome that slight disconnection: he simply cast real-life street kids and gang members to be in Five Star. And the results are quite extraordinary.

Set within a stretch of Brooklyn housing projects, Five Star hinges on boss-man Primo (James "Primo" Grant), a hulking shot-caller who's also a warm-hearted family man when he needs to be. Primo takes a special interest in teenager John (John Diaz), whose father, one of Primo's closest friends, was murdered for reasons unknown to everyone, especially John.

Miller shoots Five Star as if it's a documentary, forgoing slick editing techniques and any obvious hip-hop soundtrack cues to just let his first-time actors do their things, and his bravery is rewarded by first-class performances. James "Primo" Grant, in particular, comes across as a natural—while Diaz is also impressive, Grant's effortless charisma and ability to balance empathy with intimidation demand an entire movie of their own. —Matt Barone

Director: Jesse Zwick
Stars: Maggie Grace, Max Greenfield, Jane Levy, Max Minghella, Nate Parker, Aubrey Plaza, Jason Ritter

What do Max Greenfield, Aubrey Plaza, and Jason Ritter have in common? You know, besides the fact that they're all accomplished comedic actors on hit network comedies. Answer: They're all given the chance to showcase their dramatic range in About Alex. The impressive debut film from director Jesse Zwick, About Alex follows a group of college buddies who reunite for a secluded weekend in mountains after the titular Alex (Ritter) attempts to kill himself.

Comparisons to the Big Chill aside, Zwick brings forth a timely and moving exploration of lost friendships and lost loves in age where it's so easy to reconnect if only we wanted to pick up our iPhones. Zwick proves to be a thoughtful director whose trust in his talented ensemble cast comes through on screen and delivers a heartfelt, bittersweet, and unforgettable film. —Tara Aquino

Director: One9

Time is Illmatic director One9 and writer/producer Erik Parker could have taken the easy route and spent 90 minutes fawning over Nas' classic debut album. And had they done so, their 20th-anniversary-honoring documentary would have been no less entertaining, but they opted to make something more than that. The result: a surprisingly poignant and altogether well-rounded film that puts Illmatic into a larger context.

While all nine of Illmatic's tracks are given the making-of treatment, complete with their producers' and Nas' own commentary, Time is Illmatic is more about the environment and time that influenced Nasir Jones, the man, not simply Nas, the rapper. The doc's scene-stealing co-stars include Jungle, Nas' more animated young brother, and Olu Dara, his experienced and wise father—together, they help put the pre-Ilmatic Nas' life into a sharper focus than any magazine profile or VH1 Behind the Music ever could. —Matt Barone

Director: Lou Howe
Stars: Rory Culkin, David Call, Deirdre O'Connell, Emily Meade, Louisa Krause, Lynn Cohen, Alexia Rasmussen

Gabriel is not groundbreaking. It's not going to change the course of cinema. But despite all that, it hits you like a freight train. In it, the exceptional Rory Culkin stars as the titular character, a boy on the cusp of adulthood who's own inner demons and apparent illnesses prevent him from normalcy. But cliches be damned, this film is not a portrait of a troubled boy dwelling on his setbacks—rather, it's a story about an uncommon, peculiar dreamer wrestling with society for his own idea of the perfect life, embodied by a long lost love. He will literally run from the cops, sneak out of his house, and hop on cross-country buses for her, his solace.

And that's the sweet beauty of it. Writer-director Lou Howe establishes himself as both a powerful and sensitive voice with this hopeful, however dark, debut film that's sure to linger in your mind. —Tara Aquino

Director: Ivan Kavanagh
Stars: Rupert Evans, Antonia Campbell Hughes, Hannah Hoekstra, Steve Oram, Kelly Byrne

There's a very specific kind of horror fan who's going to adore Irish filmmaker Ivan Kavanagh's The Canal: people who want to be psychologically disturbed more than simply entertained or brainlessly indulged.

An all-out assault of freaky imagery and dread-anchored mood, The Canal is the strongest and most legitimately creepy Midnight movie the Tribeca Film Festival has programmed since 2008's Let the Right One In. A film archivist (Rupert Evans) gets a hold of some crime scene footage from 1902, of a man who slaughtered his wife and drowned his two children. The kicker, though, is that the murders happened inside the house where he now lives. It also doesn't help matters that he's currently suspecting his wife of cheating.

All of these factors collide in an intensely effective chiller that's as bleak as horror flicks come. Seriously, you'll want to keep Frozen queued up for some post-Canal viewing. —Matt Barone

Director: Kelly Reichardt
Stars: Jesse Eisenberg, Dakota Fanning, Peter Sarsgaard

Kelly Reichardt is a master at telling slow-moving, poignant stories about loss and alienation. See: Wendy and Lucy and Old Joy. She does it again with her latest feature Night Moves, in which Jesse Eisenberg, Dakota Fanning, and Peter Sarsgaard play environmental activists whose shortsighted idea of blowing up of a dam lead to serious consequences.

But no, there are no cop chases, no hounding by the media, and no helicopter spotlights involved. Rather, true to Reichardt's style, the consequences are more internal. Helped by strong performances by all three of the leading actors, especially Eisenberg and Fanning, the film's greatest villain becomes the unshakable guilt that eats away at each of the characters, and damn is it fascinating to watch it take control. —Tara Aquino

Director: Michael Rapaport

Let's just give Michael Rapaport all the money to make documentaries about every one of his favorite things. Just like he did with the excellent 2011 doc Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest, about his favorite rap group, the actor turned director channels his lifelong affinity for the New York Knicks into When the Garden Was Eden, a short, sweet, and hugely entertaining look back at when the Knickerboxers didn't, you know, kind of suck.

Set to air on ESPN later this year, When the Garden Was Eden fits nicely into the network's 30 For 30 template, assembling all of the late 1960s/early '70s Knicks players to reminisce about their multiple NBA Championship runs. For basketball junkies, hearing legends like Phil Jackson, Clyde Frazier, Earl "The Pearl" Monroe, and Willis Reed trade behind-the-scenes war stories and happier anecdotes plays right into nostalgia. For Knicks loyalists, the way Rapaport connects the team's currently dire situation to how the '60s squad faced a similar predicament generates hope that the "Phil Jackson as GM" era just might be OK. Well, in theory, at least. —Matt Barone

Director: Noah Buschel
Stars: Corey Stoll, Billy Crudup, Marin Ireland, Yul Vazquez, Kelly Lynch, John Douglas Thompson

As Glass Chin gets underway, all of the necessary ingredients to make a classically minded film noir are in place. There's the former boxer (played by Corey Stoll, from House of Cards) trying to live a straight life now that his in-the-ring days are over; the shady businessman (an on-fire Billy Crudup) with ties to the city's criminal underworld and his sights set on further corrupting the one-time pugilist; the double-cross, and, of course, the murder.

The more Glass Chin progresses, though, the less indebted to its noir influences writer-director Noah Buschel's impressively minimalist drama becomes. At times, it feels more like an elaborate stage play than a movie, with numerous scenes where two or three characters trade pulpy and darkly funny dialogue back and forth minus an intrusive soundtrack or any overbearing directorial flourishes from Buschel.

Glass Chin is a hard-nosed and assured character study concerned with flaws and mistakes. It's not unlike the sadly overlooked and too quickly cancelled FX series Lights Out—fans of that 2011 show will be in good hands here. —Matt Barone

Director: Tayla Lavie
Stars: Dana Ivgy, Nelly Tagar

The hype is real. The winner of Tribeca Film Fest's Best Narrative Feature, Zero Motivation, directed by first timer Tayla Levie is hilarious, entertaining, and refreshing to see in a cinema landscape filled with the same stories over and over again. The unique film follows the daily shenanigans of young female Israeli soliders wasting away at the military's remote Human Resources facility, where they stamp documents, play old school computer games, and file to no end while a war (though never depicted) rages on behind them.

It's a dark and absurd coming-of-age story, like Office Space, sans the mockumentary part, meets Girls, in Israel. But don't get us wrong. It's not an all-out comedy. The film carefully explores gender imbalance, suicide, military bureaucracy, and burgeoning sexuality. —Tara Aquino

Director: Christopher Denham
Stars: Wrenn Schmidt, Aaron Staton, Pablo Schreiber

On paper, Preservation seems as familiar as survival horror movies come. There's a group of friends who venture out into the woods, the masked assailants who start picking them off one by one, and the unexpectedly tough "final girl" who gives the bad guys the blood-drenched business. The thing about Preservation, however, is that writer-director Christopher Denham knows you're going to think that way once you hear about the film's premise, and he capitalizes on that awareness.

Sharing tons of self-aware DNA with last year's You're Next, Preservation lays its conventional pieces out early on and then subverts them all. The villains' identities and motivations aren't what you'd anticipate; the payoffs, while definitely satisfying, aren't heightened or played for rapturous audience reactions; and the previously mentioned "final girl," played strongly by Boardwalk Empire actress Wrenn Schmidt, evolves with an arc that's tightly paced and mostly unpredictable.

Whenever it's officially released, Denham's clever and scrappy Preservation should excite even the most jaded of horror heads. —Matt Barone

Director: Paul Davis
Stars: Alfie Allen, Hannah Tointon, Chris Brassington, Jack Gordon

If you've enjoyed Alfie Allen as the rambunctious, psychotic, and power hungry Theon on Game of Thrones, then you'll love this short. In the pitch-black comedy, Allen plays a killer on a mission to bury a dead body on Halloween night. He coolly walks the streets with other costumed drunkards, who, impressed by his presumed costume, help him carry out the deed. Watch it if you're feeling particularly sinister. —Tara Aquino

Director: David Lyons
Stars: Damon Herriman, Darrien Skylar, Claire van der Boom

Here's the synopsis: A father whose just lost his wife struggles to connect with his blind daughter, whose way of coping with her mother's death includes distancing herself from him. But, in a bittersweet twist reminiscent of Big Fish, the lonely dad figures out the perfect way to get his child to warm up to him once again. And trust, it's a way that will reel your heart in. —Tara Aquino

Director: Matt Kirby
Stars: Sally Hawkins, Jim Broadbent

Keep a tissue close by—the winner of TFF's Best Narrative Short, Phone Call will bring the waterworks. The film stars Sally Hawkins as a crisis hotline operator who gets a call from a distressed old man (Jim Broadbent) coping with the loss of his wife. The short, intercut with scenes of the old man's empty home, focuses entirely on Hawkins' solitary character, whose own life begins to unravel as she listens to stories about his. —Tara Aquino

Director:Louise Ni Fhiannachta
Stars: Doireann Ní Fhoighil, Bridín Nic Dhonncha, Dara Devaney, Donncha Crowley

GoldieBlox commercials have got nothing on this film, which is also all about little girl power. In it, a pint-size Irish girl refuses to take her First Communion because of her atheist beliefs. Fascinated with Charles Darwin and the like, she inadvertently infuriates the adults around her—from her mom to parish priest. But she's not doing this as an act of rebellion. Rather, the greatness of the short is that it makes it a point to emphasize her self-discovery and the validity of her beliefs. —Tara Aquino

Director: Anders Walter
Stars: Casper Crump, Pelle Falk Krusbæk, Marijana Jankovic

The Oscar winner for Best Short Film (Live Action) is basically Hugo meets Pixar meets a Hayao Miyazaki film. The short tells the story of a young nurse who soothes the worries of a terminally ill boy by telling him a fantastical story about a utopia called Helium. It's a hopeful, however heartbreaking, gem of film that's a must-see for anyone with a soul. —Tara Aquino