(**1/2)
Ella, a scared little girl, asks, “Dad where are we going?” He cryptically replies, “Pretend there was a fire in the house. What would you take with you?” Next thing you now, they’re gone.
Hard to imagine a crisis this devastating and the ensuing upheaval. Hard for audiences, but not for screenwriter Robert Machoian. Nor for first-time director Cole Webley. They’re all in. A loose-fitting storyline barely pulls together what you’re witnessing. It’s an up-close look at poverty and depression as they wring the life out of this little clan. Seems real. A reality that’s tough to watch.
Dad (John Magaro, the husband in Past Lives) is in desperation mode. The footage starts in the middle of the action as he rouses Ella (Molly Belle Wright) and her younger brother Charlie (Wyatt Solis) from their beds. He hastily packs their old car, dodges a law enforcement officer standing outside his house and drives out of town. Are they on their way to Disneyland? To grandma’s house? No. The bleak script takes the characters and the audience in a different direction.
The premise is ok and not well-trodden. The plotting unfolds in the most mysterious ways, like a slow-building character study and slice of life searching for a reason to exist. Shots of the Midwest, by cinematographer extraordinaire Paul Meyers, make the footage look like a travelog. Landscapes (Bonneville Salt Flats), closeups on faces that look like portraits and endless visions of a raggedy old SUV on the highway sear impressions into the memory banks.
The very subtle musical score (Christopher Bear, Past Lives) caresses the family drama and a playlist that includes pop songs like “Boney Maronie” set’s the atmosphere well. And certainly, editor Jai Shukla’s tough cuts keep the merciless storyline down to just 83 minutes of an audience’s time. Even with that tec help, this relentlessly depressing, lower-class allegory will be a tough watch for even the most ardent film fans.
Webley’s direction seems instinctive. Every scene seems natural, like you’re watching a young family descend into a world where only government assisted programs can help. Things get worse, money gets tighter, choices dwindle. It’s a harsh reality, sobering and awful. The grim emotions of the situation set in. The way the director handles the children, from their joy and innocence to their shock, is masterful. Especially a scene in which Ella pleads for the release and return of her dog. Bring a hanky, maybe two.
The final moments are even more tear worthy. That’s when a courageous nurse (Talia Balsam) extends an open hand, and the weary father admits defeat and pleads, “I think I need some help.” That’s the pain point; not being able to ask for help when a cry for help is what will save you. It’s all very touching. Very moving. There will be no questions about how you get to the ending. The only question will be why you had to go there. In that way, as earnest as this film is, it may never fill theater seats or garner a streaming audience of any significance.
Magaro is the ultimate everyman actor. As relatable as the guy next door. He never shows the character’s full hand. Bit by bit the dad unravels as if he’s holding his cards until the finale. Every emotion he displays is deeper than the ocean. The child actor Wright has a whimsical nature that is affecting in every scene. She’ll have a long career. Ditto for Solis. And Balsam as the angel they all need exhibits the sternness and caring that that woman needed to show.
It’s like you’re woken up in the middle of the night, kidnapped and then left on the side of the road. In Nebraska. A well-crafted indie movie that should have taken the audience on a journey somewhere special. It doesn’t.
Photos courtesy of the Sundance Film Institute.
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Visit Film Critic Dwight Brown at DwightBrownInk.com.