It’s been a whole year since the last Milwaukee Film Festival. There’s been some changes, a smaller geographic footprint mostly and they’re hosting a block party outside the Oriental Theatre on Opening Night, but it’s positioning itself as the kickoff of the Milwaukee Festival Season and there’s good buzz as always.
This year’s kickoff film comes is SALLY which set forth to dig into the private life of groundbreaking American astronaut Sally Ride.
SALLY is directed by Milwaukee Film Festival alumnus, and Milwaukee native, Cristina Costantini who played Opening Night a few year’s back with SCIENCE FAIR. While one can see how a STEM connection may link SCIENCE FAIR to SALLY, the focus is more personal and political. Cristina Costantini was present at opening night and quite emotional.
And she had good reason to be as SALLY is quite good and was exceeding well received by an appreciative crowd. SALLY doesn’t break new ground, but it sifted through a ton of archival footage, is often quite perceptive in what the footage it found represents, and has a heck of the way into the story with Sally Ride’s longtime partner Tam O’Shaughnessy. And it should be noted that while Sally Ride may be the big name draw, Tam O’Shaughnessy is the kind of interview subject a documentary dreams of having, funny, insightful, emotional, and candid. Tam O’Shaughnessy helps give the film a beating heart.
Sally Ride may not have known that she would be playing a part in a movie one day, but her taciturn nature, she’s a huge extrovert compared to her still living mother (which produced laughs), made her something of an ideal choice for NASA, beyond the fact that she can obviously do the job. In particular, Sally Ride was a master of taking sexist questions and not being combative but also not giving an inch. She may not have much liked the spotlight, but she also knew how to handle herself in public.
And the film suggests, she knew how to handle herself maybe too well, keeping herself and her relationship in the closet until the very end. And that produced some strains in her relationship. And some real world worries about what coming out of the closet meant, especially for a woman who clearly into tennis and witnessed Billie Jean King’s lost sponsorships when she was outed. What emerges is a full portrait of Sally Ride. The director said they wanted to present Sally Ride as a full person with flaws and in my mind that goal was accomplished.
Also, as a technical feat of sorting through mountains of footage, a tip of the cap is necessary. The film was made with the cooperation of NASA, but NASA wasn’t going to edit the film for anyone. And actually editing all the footage into a concise, compelling portrait.
Following the film was a lengthy Q&A with Cristina Costantini and Tam O’Shaughnessy in attendance. I don’t know if the Q&A added much that wasn’t already evident in the film, but it certainly did highlight the challenges of putting the film together and presented more heartfelt time with Tam O’Shaughnessy which was a reward in and of itself.
So, overall, SALLY is what you want out of an opening night film. It filled the theater, entertained the audience, was put together with skill, and gave the viewers something to take home and consider. Sometimes, just one of those things is enough, and SALLY cleared the bases. Yeah, it didn’t reinvent the form, but it’s certainly a good example of the form.
Afterwards, the Milwaukee Film Festival moved their party outside for the first time. I didn’t stick around, but it feels like the after party was kind of lacking a center of gravity. Also, although it wasn’t particularly cold for April, it was decidedly windy and while several spots had good business, and I think Landmark Lanes was likely jumping, it seems like a lot of people decided that going home on a work night was a good idea.
The 2025 Milwaukee Film Festival runs from April 24, 2025 until May 8, 2025. SALLY plays twice more at the 2025 Milwaukee Film Festival; first on Friday, April 25, 2025 at 4:15 PM at the Oriental Threatre and second on Thursday, May 1, 2025 at 12:00 PM at the Oriental Theatre. Tickets to SALLY and other films can be purchased at MKEFILM.ORG.
