Manifest West

Novice filmmaker duo, co-writers and co-directors Joe Dietsch and Louie Gibson were excellent in directing their cast, gave us beautifully shot scenes and cinematography, but had the writing been much tighter, this film could've been outstanding. For starters, all casting and performances were exceptional - they felt very convincing and real, even the little girls. The score was excellent and complimented the scenes perfectly. Going into this, the promotional description for this film was "a coming of age" story, which it was, but it was also a lot more that was too subtle to make this film great. The narrative was too uneven and incohesive with its subplots, which left many plot holes. It tried biting off more than it chewed in its 91 min runtime. Had the pacing been better, and some irrelevant scenes omitted and others expanded with more depth - even if an extra 15-20 mins were added, it would've made a huge difference. Nevertheless, a great one-time watch that will provoke many thoughts long after the film is over. It's a 7.5 rounded up to an 8/10, specifically for the exceptional performances and rookie mistakes forgiven to the novice filmmaker duo.