Running from November 12th through November 15th, FILM FEST KNOX returns for its 4th annual film festival in partnership with Visit Knoxville and Regal Cinemas. The festival, which is held at the picturesque Regal Riviera on Gay Street, is becoming a staple for independent cinema to thrive, and what better place than the Scruffy City, where filmmaking is emerging as a potent and platforming industry.
The opening night film – Mouse – is the latest story from independent darlings Kelly O’Sullivan and Alex Thompson, most known for their Sundance breakout feel good drama Ghostlight. Their stories are known for not shying away from the difficult, more raw parts of life such as grief and accepting change. For Mouse, which was recently reported to have been rejected by Sundance (twice!) along with other major fall festivals, it left me scratching my head on how this gem slipped through the cracks considering how much mediocrity I’ve been subjected to recently.
Mouse, turning the clock back to 2002, between just prior to the Iraq war and the beginning of the New England Patriots dynasty, is a familiar and simpler setting for its audience. We meet best friends Callie (Chloe Coleman) and Minnie (Katherine Mallen Kupferer), who are on the cusp of the very last day of junior year in high school, right before bridging into that ‘last hurrah’ summer prior to their senior year.
From the first few moments we meet the pair, an undeniable connection can be felt between them. They drive to school together, have sleepovers, walk to class together and even sneak away to jump into a 50 foot quarry. The vibe of this summery suburban southern town in Arkansas is the perfect mesh of pseudo-Americana life.
Early on, during a game of “personal feedback,” – which I was inherently unfamiliar with and desperately hope is not something teenagers actually do – at Callie’s house during a sleepover, O’Sullivan and Thompson establish that Minnie is seen differently by the rest of her peers. Cara (Audrey Grace Marshall), who is seen as more of a drama program acquaintance to Callie and Minnie, takes the opportunity to passive aggressively criticize Minnie for her unchangeable features.
Even with all of this teenage girl angst, Callie sees Minnie for who she truly is, her rightful bestie and sister-like constant in her life. Contrasting nicely to my personal idyllic 17-year-old aspirations of winning 6 Oscars by the age of 25, Callie is equally excited for her 10 year plan of attending Guillard and going from struggling actress to movie star, which is one of those coming of age tropes that would be criminal to omit.
The morning after the sleepover of highs and lows, Minnie leaves in the morning to walk to her part-time job managing a ball pit at a seemingly unsanitary indoor amusement park. We learn the night before from Callie’s mother, Helen (Sophie Okenedo), that the former has a vocal lesson in the morning. It isn’t until Minnie is walking back home from work when a jogger passes by and says something along the lines of “I’m sorry.” Something is not right. Callie has been in a car accident. As Minnie comes up to the driveway of Callie’s home, she discovers the brilliantly blocked front yard is parsed with random parents, peers, and law enforcement. The moment is so heartachingly passive and blunt that we’re forced to mirror the shock along with these characters. And then, we’re hit with the Mouse, title card, which resulted in a deep exhale for myself.
From here, which is only at about the 25-minute mark in the tight 120 minute runtime, is when we shift our focus to both Helen and Minnie, resulting in a most touching contrast of accepting grief and their natural dynamic moving forward. Helen and Minnie begin to both use each other as a stepping stone of vicariousness through Callie.
As the drama program suggests a talent show in remembrance of Callie, Minnie decides to perform a musical number that her late best friend had always wanted to do. With the help of Helen, a former concert pianist, Minnie and Helen begin practicing after school. This further distances Minnie from her own family, almost unconsciously, as she finds a way to continue living with the spirit of her best friend through Helen.
Unfortunately, this begins to hurt more than help the pair, as Helen and Minnie navigate their grief through one another, creating an honest and fascinating dynamic that O’Sullivan’s screenplay manages to play out. While their relationship briefly offers comfort by developing into a mother-daughter dynamic, including Minnie telling Helen about her first kiss with her video store clerk crush Kat (Iman Vellani) and Helen caring for her after she has a bit much to drink following the homecoming dance, both are still finding their own ways to process the loss of Callie. Their connection offers a sense of companionship and understanding, even as they continue to navigate the complexities of grief and what it means to move forward.
At its core, Mouse is a found family film. Not in the unconventional way that Paul Thomas Anderson likes to play with, but in a comedic and honest sense, it reminded me a lot like one of his later film’s, Licorice Pizza. O’Sullivan’s screenplay beautifully strings together Minnie’s chemistry with her own mother (Tara Mallen) – real life mother-daughter! – and Helen. While I’ll never be able to connect with girlhood; I’ve dealt with crushes, mean spirited peers, and a face-down poorly scored math test, which speaks to how the film’s accessibility is one of the many strengths it shares with the audience.
While the heartstrings were indeed pulled, Mouse is an incredibly witty film, especially about grief as a whole. Whether it’s Helen’s playful joking about the amount of casseroles she’s been sent or her post-loss divorce because her husband is a “moron,” bluntly mentioned to Minnie in Sophie Okenedo’s properly posh English accent.
I remember hearing once that if every performance in a film is pitch-perfect, it didn’t happen on accident, it’s because the film is exceptionally directed, and Mouse is at its best when there are multiple characters on screen whether it be our leads or supporting performances such as the drama teacher Mr. Murdaugh (David Hyde Pierce) and the other peers, this is a true celebration of the ensemble.
Mouse is like the warmest cup of hot chocolate you’ll ever have. It’s a mushy, quick-witted coming of age story that materializes into a sentimental page turning hug. Katherine Kupferer’s performance as Minnie is a star-making performance, and Sophie Okonedo further bolsters her resume as one of the most underrated actresses in independent cinema. In an industry that can sometimes bend the meaning of what indie films are, Kelly O’Sullivan and Alex Thompson are leading the charge with honest, un-meandering lessons of what it means to have a beating heart.
Mouse will premiere as the opening night film at Film Fest Knox on November 13th, 2026. Tickets are available to purchase here. Otherwise, the film will be playing at Regal Downtown West 8 this weekend.
Wyatt Allison can be found on Twitter/X @wyattartsknox and on Letterboxd @filmwyatt.
