One of the movies playing in competition in Park City will be Ben Lewin's "The Surrogate," and it's definitely one to keep an eye on. The film will star John Hawkes, albeit in a role unlike anything we've seen him do before. He'll play journalist and poet Mark O'Brien, in the movie based on his life. Stricken with polio at the age of six, he was left paralyzed from the neck down and spent the remainder of life in an iron lung. That did little, however, to stop O'Brien's ambitions, and he ended up completing a B.A. in English literature. But this movie will center on his journey to lose his virginity, something he achieves with the help of his therapist and his priest. With Helen Hunt and William H. Macy in supporting roles, this sounds like exactly the complex, rich fare the festival was created for. Check the images below.
The Sundance Film Festival runs from January 19-29. [via The Film Stage]

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2 Comments
jingmei | December 1, 2011 9:01 PM
John Hawkes is so awesome.
James | December 1, 2011 12:26 PM
Oscar Bait!!!