Like many an American independent film that made a splash at Sundance or SXSW, Fancy Dance is a satisfying drama that breaks barriers—even if it doesn’t do much to break the mold. It oscillates between moving and manufactured, but the movie’s honest portrayal of life on a tribal reservation and a powerful performance by Lily Gladstone keep things grounded.

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FANCY DANCE ★★1/2 (2.5/4 stars)
Directed by: Erica Tremblay
Written by: Erica Tremblay, Miciana Alise
Starring: Lily Gladstone, Isabel Deroy-Olson, Shea Whigham
Running time: 92 mins.

Fancy Dance centers around an extended family in crisis, as a Cayuga woman named Tawi joins the unfortunate ranks of missing and murdered Indigenous women. She hasn’t been seen for two weeks, and while her sister Jax (Gladstone) knows enough about the world they live in to be prepared for the worst, Tawi’s 13-year-old daughter Roki (Isabel........

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