Kate Connor will attend the screening
winner, Best Drama, Cannes Independent
First-time screenwriter Kate Connor’s Fort McCoy is as ambitious as it is personal: together with co-director Michael Worth, Connor retells her grandmother’s childhood experiences as the daughter of a barber on the post-World War II military base of the title, which includes a German POW camp.
The film begins with Frank (Eric Stoltz) and Ruby Stirn (Connor), their two children, Lester (Marty Backstrand) and Gertie (Gara Lonning), and Ruby’s younger sister, Anna Gerkey (Lyndsy Fonseca), moving to Fort McCoy, where Frank will do his part for the war effort as a barber. When Gertie befriends the young German Heinrich, darker parts of the outwardly idyllic base come into view, including the presence of ideologically unrepentant SS soldiers.
Fortunately, most performances are more than up to par with the film’s lofty ambitions. Stoltz is entirely convincing as a man humbled by his German heritage and prevented from showing his American patriotism on the battlefield. Connor clearly proves that she can carry a lead, especially if it’s tailored to her period-piece-friendly looks. Fonseca is delightful as a young girl in love, with executive producer Hirsch also showing great potential as her paramour.
Karsten Kastelan, The Hollywood Reporter
