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Q&A with directors Kelly O’Sullivan and Alex Thompson following the screening
It’s summer 2002 for high school BFFs Minnie (Katherine Mallen Kupferer, a standout from co-directors Kelly O’Sullivan’s and Alex Thompson previous film, Ghostlight) and Callie (Chloe Coleman), as the inseparable pair while away the dog days dreaming about the future, vying for position within their friend group, and renting and rewatching Good Will Hunting. When tragedy strikes on the eve of their senior year, Minnie is completely lost and forms an uneasy bond with Callie’s mother, Helen (Academy Award nominee Sophie Okonedo). Collaborators O’Sullivan and Thompson have an intuitive feel for the ways that grief reorients the world around you, how the presence of a profound absence alters your self-image and your decision-making. Okonedo is astonishing as Helen, a woman trying to maintain her graceful facade as her world crumbles. And David Hyde Pierce is fabulous in a scene-stealing role as the high school drama teacher, quietly radiating melancholy and wisdom from the margins. Plus, if you too were a fan of the rock band The Walkmen, you’ll be delighted to see that Hamilton Leithauser provided the warm and spare piano score. Perceptive and genuine, Mouse is the rare tearjerker that doesn’t wallow, and is all the more affecting for it. ~OO