SIFF Sighting: ONE CHANCE (Biography; United Kingdom)

Everyone has a dream, but not everyone pursues it.

Paul Potts (James Corden) works in a cellphone shop after nearly giving up on a singing career and takes a chance on auditioning for Britain's Got Talent.

The rest is history, and his journey getting there is played out beautifully in this crowd-pleaser that will leave you believing that nice guys can indeed finish first.

ONE CHANCE screened at the 40th Seattle International Film Festival.

SIFF Sighting: STILL LIFE (Drama; United Kingdom)

John May (Eddie Marsan) lives a solitary life, quietly going about his business as a government worker tasked with finding the loved ones of the recently deceased.

He takes great care to honor each of the dead: He plans funerals (though sometimes he's the only one in attendance); saves cremains longer than rules dictate just in case a friend or family member turns up; and keeps a book of photographs to memorialize those he has helped (though they'll never know).

John is a pleasant man, but doesn't appear to have any friends—and that may be why his compassion runs so deep for the loners he's helping.

When his new boss tells him that his work is too "slow," and they're downsizing him to provide a more efficient service, he just has one more case to solve before he departs.

His research leads him to meet Kelly Stoke (Joanne Froggatt), a next-of-kin who appreciates his kindness during a time of great shock and sadness. Their journey is a story in itself, twisting and turning with unexpected developments.

Eddie Marsan gives an Oscar-worthy performance as the heroic May, representing the ultimate professional in a career that not many would want. Downton Abbey's Froggatt is a welcome surprise late in the film, and their chemistry is delightful.

From the simplicity of the scenes to the hollow sets, the vibe of the film is masterfully executed by director Uberto Pasolini. The quiet pauses allow the audience time to digest the weight of confronting death while still keeping everyone engrossed in the story.

This one is not to be missed, folks.

STILL LIFE will screen at the 40th Seattle International Film Festival (fittingly) on Memorial Day, May 26. For tickets, go here.

SIFF Sighting: TWO FOR THE ROAD (Classic, United Kingdom)

Audrey Hepburn and Albert Finney play Joanna and Mark: a 60s-era couple that succumbs to the stereotypical failures of a wedded union.

They begin, as most couples do, passionately in love with one another; playful and carefree.

They're both gorgeous, charismatic and engaging, so what could possibly go wrong, right?

Their story is told in non-chronological flashbacks, so we alternately experience their best memories along with their worst. Sort of like real life, which is alternately touching and frustrating.

The most entertaining bits feature them on a road trip with another couple and their obnoxious young daughter Ruthie (Gabrielle Middleton). The parents here are on the cusp of the generation that started letting discipline go out the window in favor of allowing kids to explore their "feelings" and "experience independence." The little brat spotlighted in this role is a perfect example of why that parenting trend was (and continues to be) a huge failure—blatant displays of entitlement and general disrespect. But I digress...

The two leads here behave much like the couple in WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF, which came five years prior to this film, but without the same intensity or venom.

Their fights are uncomfortable, sure, but not entirely enough to convince the audience they won't eventually kiss and make up.

Overall, it's not a bad film, and the recent restoration by The Film Foundation and Twentieth Century Fox makes the print glow with nostalgia and light.

TWO FOR THE ROAD screened at the 38th Annual Seattle International Film Festival.

SIFF Sighting: DREAMS OF A LIFE (Documentary, United Kingdom)

How can a vibrant, social woman in her 30s, living in a big city, die alone in her home and not be discovered for three years?

This is what the documentary DREAMS OF A LIFE examines in the true story of Joyce Carol Vincent.

Joyce was apparently wrapping Christmas presents one evening in 2003 and died of what must have been natural causes. She was found in 2006, her remains so decomposed they could not definitively determine what killed her.

Due to the type of housing she lived in, her rent was covered for a long time, her electricity was never shut off (her television was still on when she was found) and she was in between jobs so none of her colleagues "missed her." The friends she had knew of her as a free spirit and figured she was off on some adventure. Her mail continued to be delivered, piling up in her front room where it landed. No one realized her body lay ready to be discovered in a London flat.

What this documentary does is re-enact certain elements of Joyce's life using an actress who bears a strong resemblance to her, and they mix that with talking head interviews with friends and acquaintances who can't believe she's gone.

The story is undeniably fascinating and speaks to a larger issue in the lack of community of present times. However, I do think the filmmakers focused too much on silly details (so what if she liked to sing—we didn't need to hear several 'songs' to represent that) and not enough time on her living sisters and the actual investigation following the discovery of her body.

Nonetheless, a powerful representation of what can happen, even in this age of information sharing and virtual connectedness.

DREAMS OF A LIFE screened at the 38th annual Seattle International Film Festival.