Noomi Rapace as a Macedonian witch vies with Cooper Raiff’s latest gem and dapper Bill Nighy in this second virtual edition of the US indie festival
![From age-gap romances to a homemade Welsh robot: the best of Sundance 2022](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/459a19ab3528b8530a44e779b9cbffea72cebc10/0_0_2560_1536/master/2560.jpg?width=1200&height=630&quality=85&auto=format&fit=crop&overlay-align=bottom%2Cleft&overlay-width=100p&overlay-base64=L2ltZy9zdGF0aWMvb3ZlcmxheXMvdG8tZGVmYXVsdC5wbmc&enable=upscale&s=b8337e946f64b19a9fb62bdf793682ea)
The uncertainties of the pandemic might have skewered plans to host a hybrid festival – it was originally hoped to combine an in-person event in Park City,
Utah with an online option – but certain Sundance truths remain inviolable. Key among them is the fact that even without the heady effect of all that mountain air, and despite a selection this year that is unlikely to go down as one for the ages, Sundance buzz remains a powerful force with the potential to propel a small film to big results. This year, however, there is little that has combined crowd-pleasing credentials with critical consensus.
Perhaps the main contender for crossover success is Cha Cha Real Smooth, the second film from
American Gen Z wunderkind Cooper Raiff (Shithouse), who wrote, directed and stars in a sweet, funny and almost painfully earnest drama about a directionless 22-year-old college leaver (an endearingly puppyish Raiff) who falls hard for Dakota Johnson’s thirtysomething divorcee with an autistic daughter. On paper, it’s an archetypal Sundance movie – emotionally engaging, honest, with just a hint of grit – but my gut says that some slightly sniffy reviews have misjudged the broad appeal of this one.