| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| randall |
Posted - 08/07/2013 : 20:27:40
This is a beautiful little 2012 indie now streaming on Netflix, and as they warn, some scenes are explicit. But prurience is not the sell, and if you expect it to be, you'll be disappointed.
It stars Dree Hemingway, daughter of Mariel [can you imagine that, fellow oldsters?], who has the same fresh-scrubbed looks and long, long legs. She's moved to the San Fernando Valley [when Angelenos say "the Valley," this is what they're referring to; it ain't Beverly Hills] from somewhere, she has a sparse room in an apartment which she rents from a constantly overdosed couple. She must be an aspiring actress. She is.
She furnishes her bland, carpeted room by going to yard sales. She buys a piece from an old lady. She takes it home, and out tumbles, one after another, rubber-banded rolls of money. She goes back to the old lady, who would scare even Clint Eastwood off the lawn, shrugs and decides to keep the loot, which the lady obviously didn't know about. Then her guilt goads into becoming a friend to the old woman, even a stalker.
You'll notice that a lot of details are left out to this point by director/co-writer Sean Baker. He wants to present them to you at his own pace. I can't remember the last time that pure human interplay trumped my desire to want more detail, but you get them both here, just in that specific order.
This "feels" shot on digital, with blasted-out daylight and then more controlled settings, including an astonishing verite section which I'll leave for you to discover, as you will discover 85-year-old Besedka Johnson in her very first film. How do these indie kids find these people?
I realize I'm not telling you much, but if the little bit I have given intrigues you at all, believe me: this is a beaut. |
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