Fourth of July

This 2022 American film follows Jeff, a jazz pianist in recovery from alcoholism, on the annual holiday he spends with his family. Applying what he has learned in therapy, he decides to say what he has not said for years; the family is not ready to hear it, and the holiday turns into a reckoning. The film's strength is building realistically how conversation inside a family works: nobody answers directly, everyone changes the subject. Joe List takes the lead and co-wrote it, drawing on his own experience in stand-up. The story is small in scale and takes place almost entirely in one house. Its distribution was limited because of the allegations of misconduct against its director. Who it's for: viewers who like American independent family drama and dialogue-driven films. Who it's not for: anyone who would rather avoid the film because of its director's history, or the subject of alcohol dependence.