The Nowhere Inn Movie Storyline. Annie Clark’s musical persona, St. Vincent, is a shapeshifting anomaly of sounds, styles, and acclaimed artistic ingenuity. But what about Clark offstage? “We snack on radishes,” says a bandmate. “Anything that tastes like dirt. We go to farmers’ markets.”
This comical disconnect between the fantastical Vincent and the quotidian Clark sparks the central tension of The Nowhere Inn, a playful, fictitious skewering of celebrity and the creative process that pits Clark’s best friend, filmmaker Carrie Brownstein (Portlandia), against an increasingly self-conscious Clark. She’s been told repeatedly that the music documentary Brownstein is making about her portrays nothing but boring ab workouts, Scrabble games, and sad scenes where she accommodates needy fans and critics.
In an attempt to spice up the story, Clark incorporates her alluring St. Vincent persona into the doc, turning Brownstein’s initial search for the “authentic Annie” into an absurdist rabbit hole of false narratives, constructed dressing-room meltdowns, and bizarre relationship drama. The result is a funny metacritique of fame that relishes the power of reinvention while calling out our incessant demand for entertainment over authenticity.
The Nowhere Inn is a 2020 American mockumentary psychological thriller-comedy film, directed by Bill Benz, from a screenplay by Annie Clark and Carrie Brownstein. It stars Annie Clark, Carrie Brownstein, Dakota Johnson, Ezra Buzzington, Toko Yasuda, Chris Aquilino, Drew Connick, Michael Bofshever, LaNora Terraé Hayden and Sarah Tither-Kaplan.
It had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 25, 2020. The film was scheduled to screen at South by Southwest and the Tribeca Film Festival; however both festivals were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In March 2021, IFC Films acquired distribution rights to the film. It was released on September 17, 2021.
The Nowhere Inn (2021)
Directed by: Bill Benz
Starring: Annie Clark, Carrie Brownstein, Dakota Johnson, Ezra Buzzington, Toko Yasuda, Chris Aquilino, Drew Connick, Michael Bofshever, LaNora Terraé Hayden, Sarah Tither-Kaplan
Screenplay by: Annie Clark, Carrie Brownstein
Production Design by: Grace Alie
Cinematography by: Minka Farthing-Kohl
Film Editing by: Ali Greer
Costume Design by: Natalie O’Brien
Set Decoration by: Ali Rubinfeld
Music by: St. Vincent
MPAA Rating: None.
Distributed by: IFC Films
Release Date: January 25, 2020 (Sundance). September 17, 2021 (United States)
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