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"The Intervention"

U.S. Dramatic Competition

HHH

Actor Clea DuVall shows a deft hand for comedy in her directing debut, the pleasantly funny and awkward "The Intervention." Four couples who are friends and siblings, in various combinations, gather for a weekend gathering at a summer house. What one of the couples, the always feuding Ruby (Cobie Smulders) and Peter ("Boardwalk Empire's" Vincent Piazza), doesn't know is that the other three plan to hold an intervention on their marriage and urge them to divorce. Of course the other couples have their problems, too: Annie (Melanie Lynskey) binge-drinks, and has been postponing her wedding to Mark (Jason Ritter); Ruby's brother Jack (Ben Schwartz) has brought his new, and way younger, girlfriend Lola (Alia Shawkat); and lesbian couple Jesse (played by DuVall) and Sarah (Natasha Lyonne) argue about still living apart after three years. DuVall, who wrote and directed, lets the actors find their comic rhythms, and the juxtapositions of the performers — particularly Shawkat, a live-wire who energizes every scene she's in — generate solid laughs. The script stumbles a bit toward a too-pat conclusion, but the ensemble's sharp wit shines.

— Sean P. Means

"The Intervention" screens again at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival: Wednesday, 9 a.m., Library Center Theatre, Park City; Thursday, 9:30 p.m, Redstone Cinema 1, Park City; Friday, 9:15 p.m., The Grand Theatre, Salt Lake City; Saturday, 3 p.m., Library Center Theatre, Park City.