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Lynn Shelton’s new indie dramedy Touchy Feely is a film about soul searching, intimacy and healing that examines what happens when a family’s precarious balance is suddenly upset by an unexpected journey of self-exploration that no one saw coming. Written and directed by Shelton, the movie was shot on location in Seattle and boasts a strong ensemble cast that includes Rosemarie DeWitt, Josh Pais, Ellen Page, Allison Janney, Ron Livingston, Scoot McNairy and newcomer Tomo Nakayama. Now available on iTunes/On Demand, and in theaters September 6th, Touchy Feely was an official selection at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival. At the film’s recent press day, Shelton talked about what it was like reuniting again with DeWitt, why she wrote the main roles with DeWitt and Pais in mind, casting an initially reluctant Livingston, how composer Vinny Smith and musician-turned-actor Nakayama’s contributions helped transform the film, how she...

Chicago – Give Lynn Shelton a few days, a dozen crew members, a picturesque cabin and three terrific actors, and just look at what she’s capable of making. “Your Sister’s Sister” is clearly the work of a filmmaker in full command of her craft. With limited resources and very little time, writer/director Shelton somehow managed to capture a fully realized human drama brimming with richly etched characters and marvelously insightful comedy.

The more one knows about the process of filmmaking, particularly on a shoestring budget, the more one is bound to be impressed by Shelton’s achievement. Though several months of planning preceded the film’s tight production schedule, one of the three stars dropped out before shooting was set to begin. Since roughly ninety-five percent of the film is inhabited solely by these three main characters, the results of this last-minute change could’ve been catastrophic.

Blu-ray Rating: 4.5/5.0

Enter Rosemarie DeWitt,...

Writer/director Lynn Shelton is as much a sociologist as she is a well-attuned filmmaker. Her films tend to focus on the interconnected nature of humanity, how we weave ourselves into the fabric of relationships and how our actions affect those around us. In her 2009 standout, Humpday, she looked at the fraternal of bro-dom, pushing the envelope to see how just how much men can truly love each other with out it becoming, y’know, weird. In Your Sister’s Sister, her fantastic follow-up, she tightens the emotional connections considerably by focusing on the relationships between matching pairs of siblings. She eschews convention and sees them not as people with boundaries but points on a map open to limitless possibilities for connection. And man is it fun to watch them connect.

Jack (Mark Duplass) is a man adrift a year after losing his only brother. In a deft performance, Duplass...

The following is a reprint of our review from the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival

Independent filmmaking has become somewhat hyper-obsessed in the last few years with "realism." Lighting rigs have been put away, available light filling in where it will, and scripts tossed out for sketches, shaped by improvisation in an attempt to capture as close to an approximation of real human interaction as possible. It's an admirable approach, and not just limited to "mumblecore" movies -- Terrence Malick has followed this path pretty closely throughout this career. However, the risk in this style is that if it's too loose, it can structurally crumble the emotional and narrative focus. And for "Humpday" director Lynn Shelton's "Your Sister's Sister," that's the unfortunate result of the ten day shoot on the film that gathered together a game cast -- Emily Blunt, Rosemarie DeWitt and Mark Duplass -- and sets them loose on a good dramatic premise,...

A charming, insightful examination of criss-crossing relationships that was one of the buzziest titles of this year's Toronto film festival

The Toronto film festival has an unshakeable habit of programming all its big guns and attention grabbers during the first week, leaving the also-rans to roll out over the last few days. But there's always the chance of discovering a gem towards the end, and that was precisely the case with Lynn Shelton's charming Your Sister's Sister – a captivating examination of criss-crossing relationships permeated by incisive performances.

This is the Seattle-based film-maker's fourth film and, like her previous effort Humpday, which surveyed straight male insecurities, it comes steeped in improv and features another winning turn from mumblecore maven Mark Duplass. Definitely not slumming it in Shelton's low-key world are Emily Blunt and Rosemary DeWitt. Both actors might be used to bigger projects (and trailers), but they settled into Seattle's San Juan Islands with director,...

"Whatever Happened to Harold Smith?" is an unexpected pleasure: a winning blend of warm humor, excellent performances and delirious soundtrack. With the correct marketing and publicity, it could prove a deserved success in the United Kingdom. USA Films has the film in the domestic market, where delicate handling could lead to smiles all round.

The charm of "Whatever Happened" lies in the delightful oddness in its mixture of characters, its period setting, a clever and witty script by Ben Steiner and an elegantly self-aware performance by the excellent Tom Courtenay as the enigmatic Harold Smith.

The film is unashamedly British in its design and style. The late 1970s marked a cringe-worthy low point when it came to clothes, furniture and general style, and the film relishes how hilariously dire the period was in retrospect. From dreadful haircuts to broad-flared trousers, this was not a time when the word "cool" could ever be used.

"Whatever Happened" is set in the Northern England industrial town of Sheffield, where young Vince Smith (Michael Legge) is working in a dull job at a law office, though in the privacy of his own room he practices his Travolta dance steps a la "Saturday Night Fever". His father Harold is a seemingly dull, armchair-bound figure, while his mother Irene (deliciously played by longtime British singing icon Lulu) is secretly out clubbing and seeing other men.

One day Vince's father displays an ability to do "magic," surprising all around him. Trouble follows though, when Harold does a few tricks at an old folks home, resulting in several pensioners having pacemaker problems. He is arrested.

The film balances the gradual revelation that Harold has powerful psychic powers with scenes of young Vince forsaking disco and embracing (in his own naive way) punk, especially after learning that fellow office worker Joanna (Laura Fraser) is a secret punk rocker.

In the sure hands of director Peter Hewitt ("The Borrowers", "Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey"), "Whatever Happened" is a delightful journey into the lives of an eccentric group of people, a journey completely lacking in cynicism. The only problem with Steiner's screenplay is that the characters seem to bump into each other rather than consistently interact.

Newcomers Legge and Fraser are enchanting as the young people who gradually fall in love. Lulu is sexy and charming, while David Thewlis is unrecognizable (and very funny) under floppy brown hair and a bushy moustache as Vince's boss. And Stephen Fry is hilarious as the right-on, bearded Professor Peter Robinson.

The real joy, though, is Courtenay. While having made his mark long ago in such other great North of England-set films as "The Loneliness of a Long Distance Runner," "Billy Liar" and "The Dresser", he has been little seen on film these days. "Whatever Happened to Harold Smith?" serves as a reminder of his subtle skills and a rare ability to present great emotions through the smallest of gestures.

Kudos should also go to production designer Gemma Jackson and costume designer Marie France for their sterling work in recreating an era. This is a gentle -- though often deeply strange and magical -- charming, feel-good film that is so different from other films around at the moment. An enjoyable little gem.

WHATEVER HAPPENED TO HAROLD SMITH?

West Eleven Films in association with

InterMedia Film Equities

Producers:Ruth Jackson, David Brown

Director:Peter Hewitt

Executive producers:Guy East, Nigel Sinclair

Screenwriter:Ben Steiner

Director of photography:David Tattersall

Production designer:Gemma Jackson

Editor:Martin Walsh

Costume designer:Marie France

Music:Harry Gregson-Williams

Color/stereo

Cast:

Harold Smith:Tom Courtenay

Vince Smith:Michael Legge

Joanna Robinson:Laura Fraser

Professor Peter Robinson:Stephen Fry

Irene Smith:Lulu

Nesbit:David Thewlis

Lucy Robinson:Charlotte Rosamund-Roberts

Running time -- 95 minutes

No MPAA rating...