HOW DARK MY LOVE
In HOW DARK MY LOVE, Scott Gracheff offers Tribeca 2025 audiences a one-of-a-kind love story between an artist and his photographer/dominatrix wife. Joe Coleman and Whitney Ward are a match made in some weirdly curated heaven of their making. Joe specializes in painting serial killers. The morbid nature of Joe’s larger-than-life paintings is akin to a MAD magazine cartoon from the pits of hell. Joe’s attention to detail is mind-blowing. He uses jeweler’s magnifying lenses to create minute details, from individual hairs and veins on the human figures to the tiny writing that accompanies each personal vignette surrounding the central subject. The paintings are unlike anything I’ve seen before. You would need hours of focus to do each one cognitive justice.
In the film, Joe is working on his penultimate creation: a painting of Whitney. Gracheff tells us a tale of twenty-five years of marriage and the two artists who thrive on each other’s presence. Eccentrics to the bone, they were married by a ventriloquist dummy with guests dressed in elaborate costumes. They have accumulated so many unique and macabre items that they maintain two apartments.
Tyler Hubby‘s editing is a marvel. Joe’s storytelling serves as narration over his creations and home videos. He talks about his heroin addiction, his volatile relationship with his first wife, and his childhood. In conversation with musician Dave Navarro, Joe divulges to the audience his traumatic upbringing. Art is his outlet and rebellion. Whitney was ambushed by a profile in The New Yorker as her professional alter ego, dominatrix Nurse Wolf, in 1998. Her motivation was therapy and not sex. The death of Whitney’s mother, directly followed by an abusive relationship, shaped her art forms. Friend Iggy Pop poses questions to Joe about the motivation and their storied connections. Asia Argento sought him out in her 20s. All these peculiar individuals make one hugely connected chosen family.
During filming, Joe turns 60. Mortality smacks both him and Whitney in the face. After four years, the unveiling of Whitney’s portrait occurs at an exclusive exhibition in Miami. The emotion tied to this one special creation hits differently. A move upstate, a shift in mindset, and the continued worship of one another’s talents deliver exquisite peace. HOW DARK MY LOVE honors the catharsis in art. Joe discusses the struggle in humanity, and it perfectly captures the essence of the film, their lives, and the work. The culmination of a life and love most dream of, HOW DARK MY LOVE celebrates the good, the bad, and the ugly and makes it a masterpiece.
HOW DARK MY LOVE
World Premiere – Viewpoints
| United States | 109 MINUTES | English |
Directed by Scott Gracheff
Produced by Jim Muscarella, Josh Diamond, Jason Diamond, Scott Gracheff, Gregg de Domenico
ABOUT HOW DARK MY LOVE
A tale of painter and muse, at the core of which smolders a timeless love story between artist Joe Coleman and Whitney Ward, husband and wife of 25 years. Known for painting serial killers and outlaws, Joe chooses Whitney to be the subject of his next portrait, and, at nearly 7 feet tall by 4 feet wide, it will be his largest work to date. Teeming with candid biographical details, every aspect of Whitney’s life is vulnerable to exposure, and Joe is taking a leap of faith that Whitney will be able to accept his uncompromising perspective when she is the focus of his gaze. Plunging into darkness in search of the truth, the film intimately explores the relationship between life, love, death, and art.
The jury is exceptional as they move through measured recall to furious shouting matches. Their diligence in tracking down evidence and looking at all sides gives me hope that jurors take their duties seriously. Jack Thornton’s editing is a feat. The choice to keep Krieps in the frame for longer than seems normal has a chilling effect. RE-CREATION is akin to live theatre. It is an improvisation session strapped to a ticking time bomb. The audience is the 13th jury member. Sheridan provides newsreel footage, newspaper clippings, video testimony, and audio recordings at the precise times we might feel lost. It is a real-time exploration of possibilities. 
Jim Sheridan also plays Juror #1, serving as a guide and sounding board. Sheridan’s attention to detail is award-worthy. Going as far as to take the jury on a tour of the key locations in the investigation. It’s hard to discern where Sheridan lies on the guilty spectrum personally. His extensive knowledge never feels coercive. He and Merriman skillfully make a case for confusion and conflict, mirroring the state of the evidence.
José Condessa creates a vibrant and charming character. He is sensitive and caring, everything a woman desires in a man. Condessa is dazzling. Ayden Mayeri gives June a true egocentric millennial with an unresolved emotional trauma vibe, which is precisely what Lilian T. Mehrel intended. Mayeri effortlessly glides into June’s arc. Amira Casar takes on Lela with a lived-in authenticity and passion. She holds each frame with her powerful presence. These two women share gorgeous chemistry. 
Filmmakers Kasper Bisgaard and Mikael Lypinski bring Tribeca 2025 audiences documentary, THE END OF QUIET, a thought-provoking exploration of human connectivity. In an isolated town in West Virginia, the world’s largest radio telescope can pick up the murmurings of signals across the universe. To achieve this, the telescope resides in the Quiet Zone, the only place in the U.S. where Wi-Fi and cell phone signals are not permitted.
How do they fight the boredom? Brionna and her gun enthusiast grandfather, David, spend time together shooting his 37 guns and rifles and blowing things up. Choosing to reside in The Quiet Zone due to electromagnetic hypersensitivity, Clover and her dog, Beautiful, live for landline phone calls from her husband, who lives abroad. Her original poetry also serves as beautiful transition audio. A lonely but contented elderly vet named Willard spends his days drinking a lot of coffee and attending local funerals. Kirsten, 17, and Frankie, 23, are a young, engaged couple who dream of having a child. 
THE FILM IS SUPPORTED BY
Filmmaker Nayra Ilic Garcia brings Tribeca 2025 audiences CUERPO CELESTE, a film about the inevitability of change, for better or worse.
Eshaghian and Jafari use the investigative narrative as a thread throughout the film. The film opens with the discovery of the body and the subsequent search for who and how. Crime photos are relatively tame if you are an avid Discovery ID watcher.
DANGEROUS ANIMALS
Josh Heuston is Moses. Relentlessly charming and earnest, Moses tries his damnedest to find Zephyr, but his fate may be closer to any of the boy toys in the SCREAM franchise. Heuston is much more than a vapid heartthrob. He is an admirable scene partner, and you want more of him. 
Hassie Harrison is a childhood trauma-fueled badass. Harrison commands your attention and takes risks. She could carry any film. She is Final Girl heaven. 
Roy hates his life. He brings some serious childhood baggage, and his job as a radio interviewer sucks the life out of him. As he attempts suicide in a motel room, he catches a glimpse of a life-sized Monkey through his window. As he comes to, Roy finds said Monkey driving his airstream down the empty roads. The audience quickly comes to realize this is not a hallucination but a woman dressed in a costume and putting on a voice.
The woman in the suit is Jane. She uses Monkey as a coping mechanism to flee her stepfather, and the root of all her sadness. Both Roy and Jane have specific plans that are so outrageous that they agree to accompany one another on their journeys. Roy plans to dig up his abusive cop father and steal the watch he thought he had inherited. Jane wants to find a way to buy a pontoon boat and run banana boat rides as Monkey.
Shenoah Allen gives Roy a lived-in exhaustion. There is a gentleness that pulls you into his sphere. Conti is phenomenal as she navigates comedy through the suit, but also manages to rip your heart out. She uses humor to convey the hurt. It is a love story between two deeply wounded adults. Allen and Conti do not hold back in the dialogue. They take risks in every beat. 
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While waiting at the airport for her husband, Aya (Sarah Adler) is mistaken for someone else. Intrigued, she decides to pick up a complete stranger (Ulrich Thomsen) on a whim. Their encounter sparks an unexpected intimacy that unsettles Aya’s sense of certainty and awakens a yearning she neither fully understands nor knows how to fulfill. Her quiet search for meaning unfolds in a hotel room, a customer service chat and in subtle disruptions to her daily routine, as we are taken through a woman’s delicate and honest search for something meaningful.
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The cinematography is something to behold. The sepia-toned lens locks you into a compelling plot. It creates this magical, borderline eerie feeling. The production design team is aces with children’s drawings and makeshift inventions. The post-apocalyptic aspects are relatively subtle but incredibly effective. The end credits are outstanding. The original song “Our People Need Our Help” is a certified banger.
EGGHEAD & TWINKIE
Asahi Hirano plays Jess with a comfortability that is chef’s kiss. Acting like an LGBTQ+ sensai for Twinkie, Hirano makes the conversation flow easily. She is a delight, someone who could carry a spinoff film. Louis Tomeo as Egghead is fantastic. He is laugh-out-loud funny in his natural delivery. The sass is perfection. Holland allows him to show his comedy chops through the script and hilarious editing from Anna DeFinis and Kristina League. Sabrina Jie-a-fa plays Twinkie with a perfect balance of audaciousness and hesitancy. We see authentic coming-of-age and coming-out stories in her journey. Together, Tomeo and Jie-a-fa are a spectacular duo. You will fall in love with them. 
The teenage shenanigans ring true. That feeling of invincibility and daring reminds me of my crazy ideas and dumb decisions in the late 90s. Egghead and Twinkie take risks, make mistakes, hurt each other, get their hearts broken, and confess their fears. The film is a helpful guide for parents struggling to understand their kids’ feelings. Regardless of their core beliefs, 
For more LGBTQ films, click 
UnBroken
Lane pieces together the Weber children’s story using archival footage, family photos, letters of eldest brother Alfons, and the foggy memories of the five remaining sisters. She travels to Berlin, stopping at each location where the siblings were hidden and nurtured. Lane discovers her grandfather’s original fascist concentration camp papers and the entry log of all seven children in a nunnery, finding that her mother Bela’s instinct about her middle name was correct.
Misfit delivers enchanting line-drawn animation to fill in the visual gaps. Aaron Soffin and Dina Guttmann’s editing is award-worthy. Jonathan Snipes’ score is haunting. The film plays out like historical fiction from one moment to the next.
One particularly intriguing moment happens as Beth runs into a small group of young people listening to music outside the siblings’ old apartment. After she tells them what the film is about, she asks if they would hide her if history repeats itself. Their honesty will burn into your memory. The echoes of trauma and triumph rear their ugly heads in many ways, but the knowledge that in saving seven siblings, there are now 72 thriving Weber family members is something to celebrate.
The similarities to the systematic dismantling of the United States’ democracy should serve as a stark warning, but UnBroken also shines a light on the goodness of the human heart. One phrase from the film perfectly captures the message. “When you’re faced with adversity, who do you become?”
Sophie Mara Baaden plays six-year-old Sadie with authentic innocence and sass. She has wonderful chemistry with Campbell. Lesley Ann Warren plays Nora’s waspy mother and provides the stereotypical artist’s parent doubtful “I told you so” tone. Nick Fink is fantastic as Sadie’s first-grade teacher Adam. He and Campbell are a striking duo. It doesn’t hurt that his singing voice Is delicious.
The script nails the loss of personal identity when a woman becomes a mother. The invisible labor and patriarchal structure often lead to isolation and lingering resentment. It delves into self-loathing and body changes. It tackles suburban social pressure, which can be a lot. On the flip side, she also perfectly captures the love-filled hyping up we do for our kids every single day. 
Campbell is ceaselessly charming. She is funny, self-effacing, anxiety-ridden, and pottymouthed, just the way I like my fellow Moms. As a woman who gave up a career performing to be a supportive partner and mother, NORA fills my soul with a knowing. 
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The chance meeting of Fuentes and Luckey gives us insight into a music industry mystery. Diane, aka Q Lazzarus, tells us her history with music, beginning in her childhood Baptist church choir. She knew her tastes were different and embraced her unique and powerhouse presence. 
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James, now an adult, encourages his mother to reclaim her work. Eva, Q, and her former bandmates plan an upcoming concert. Chasing the dream of finally making her music and onstage persona a household name. Q’s newfound enthusiasm is infectious. Even though life had different plans, Q Lazzarus and Diane Luckey gave us one unforgettable story.
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