XOXO is the perfect film for the millennials. It's vibrant, colorful and passionate. I really enjoy this film and personally I think it's because it speaks to the younger self in me that's wishing I could party at a music festival but now at my age I don't know if I have the energy to do it.
Written by Dylan Meyer and directed by Christopher Louie, XOXO is essentially about six early 20-something strangers at the biggest EDM festival in America and their lives collide in one dream-chasing hopelessly romantic night. Graham Phillips plays DJ Ethan who gets to perform at the festival, he finally gets his big break, but situations leading up to that are quite rocky, plus his manager is going through his own separate ordeal. This is one of those ensemble films, meaning it features several key characters and all of them have equal share of screen time and you see their respective stories cross paths with each other.
First of all, I think any of you who've been to a festival before can certainly watch XOXO and plainly see the lengths to which this film went in order to accurately depict such event down pat. And once the sun goes down, the place is jumping with all kinds of folks, some are even there to just get high on drugs. It's basically a mini woodstock but with ten times the energy. The emphasis on the lighting, the wardrobe, all kinds of colors, the way the characters' lips or eyelids just glow in the dark, XOXO sure wants you to know that you are in for a party film where everybody is just there to live in the moment. The film features some of today's young talents and rising stars who are just right for their roles whether it be to captivate or inspire. At the heart of the story is this struggle or a conflict between following regular norm or hoping for something different like pursuing your passion or pursuing romantic encounter, as silly as that may sound to people, which is why I said earlier that this is the perfect film for millennials because we are the generation of not knowing what the future holds for us, we are the generation of taking chances and hoping for something more to come around. For all intents and purposes, XOXO is here to tell us that despite uncertainty and anxiety, somehow everything's going to be OK.
-- Rama's Screen --
