For those who like their mumblecore flicks veering on this side of coherent, look no further than the work of Seattle filmmaker Lynn Shelton. Skilfully uniting another killer of a cast for her next release, Touchy Feely, the first trailer has dropped which you can scope out below.
The film marks Shelton’s second time behind the camera in two years on one of her own projects. 2011’s Your Sister’s Sister proved that just because you’re making a low budget character flick, it can still be rammed full of dynamism and interesting twists. Rosemarie Dewitt, Emily Blunt and Mark Duplass starred in that tale of two sisters, one man and a lot of rather mature decisions made around a sticky situation.
Shelton has now brought Dewitt back into the fold for Touchy Feely as Abby, a massage therapist who out of the blue develops an aversion (see: utter repulsion) towards human contact. Simultaneously, her dentist brother with a failing practice finds his situation turning around when he becomes suddenly gifted with the powers of healing. Ooh err! It’s a neat spin on a story which will no doubt add further grit to its characters. Joining Dewitt this time are Ellen Page, Allison Janney, Scoot McNairy and Josh Pais.
Premiering at Sundance back in January, advance word on Touchy Feely isn’t quite as white hot as the pre-release fervour around Your Sister’s Sister. The film’s iMDB rating currently stands at 5.5. The posters appear to be honing in on the formula which made Sister such a winner: two women, one man, and the rain. That’s one element which will always prevail in Shelton’s films, the backdrop of Seattle and the Northwest. It’s impossible to point a camera anywhere in Washington state and not find a beautiful vista.
Touchy Feely is released on September 6th in the US.
