Last night I was treated to an advance screening of the most anticipated indie film of the year, Little Miss Sunshine. I have much to say concerning the film, but I shall leave all that for my forthcoming review of it on Stylus. Suffice to say that I was largely disappointed by the story, it took the saccharine-flavored route rather than exploring the darker territory of it subjects.

However, I was thoroughly impressed by the individual performances, in particular Steve Carell as a gay Proust scholar whose unrequited love for a grad student led to a failed suicide attempt. If nothing else, hopefully this will launch a new direction in his career that will provide him with more complex and challenging roles. Given the evidence here, that’s not out of reach for him.