Fancy Dance

Greetings again from the darkness. A missing person story takes on additional weight when it involves a Native American, and this story from writer-director Erica Tremblay ("Dark Winds") and co-writer Miciana Alise show us how culture and traditions remain vital to the family ties indigenous people struggle to maintain in the face of institutional hurdles.

The missing person is stripper Tawi, who is Jax's sister and Roki's mother. The feds, who have jurisdiction, have shown little interest in locating Tawi, and local law enforcement, including Jax's half-brother JJ (Ryan Begay, "Dark Winds) seems to have contributed little to the search. Jax (Lily Gladstone, Oscar nominated for KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON) remains committed to finding her sister and to raising 13-year-old Roki (Isabel Deroy-Olson, "Three Pines") according to Cayuga traditions ... including the annual Powwow in Oklahoma City, which features the mother-daughter dance that Roki so looks forward to.

CPS gets involved, and since Jax's past record is anything but pristine, Roki gets placed with her grandfather Frank (Shea Whigham, "Boardwalk Empire") and his new wife Nancy (Audrey Wasilewski, "Big Love"). Frank's relationship with his daughter Jax has been strained ever since he left the reservation after Jax's mom died (a key element to the story). Most of the story is quite believable; however, one big exception is that we are to accept Frank and Nancy refuse to allow Roki to attend Powwow. This unlikely occurrence leads Jax to help Roki escape, and the two head out to search for Tawi ... turning this into an 'on the road' story.

The cinematography from Carolina Costa is beautiful, and complements the emotions of these characters. The performances and connection of Ms. Gladstone and young Deroy-Olson make us buy into the story and their struggles. Perhaps the film's most insightful scene involves Roki, Nancy, and a pair of ballet shoes - highlighting the disconnect. We relate to Roki's wish to have just one more dance with her mother, and Jax helps us understand the challenges faced by women in indigenous communities. If there's a negative here, it's that the entire movie moves at a slow burn pace without ever achieving the tension it teases us with. Despite that minor issue, it's stunning that missing and murdered women are so commonplace in this community that each year there is a dance dedicated to them.

Streaming on Apple TV+ beginning June 28, 2024.

I was really emotionally invested throughout this film, thanks to a very well thought-out, impactful script and a rock-solid, anchoring performance by the fantastic Lilly Gladstone.

Don't go into this film expecting to find a cheery or even hopeful exploration of Native American identity and family connections - this is at times an exceedingly bleak and nasty examination of barely hidden racism, misogyny and harsh reality in modern day middle America.

It's a fantastic story backed up by realistic and interesting characters with a very well done script.

But I do have to state quite a significant negative of the film in my own personal opinion - a very sudden and unexpected ending. I was invested in these characters and their situation. I wanted to see the story resolved... But then it just went off. It really did feel that they just decided to cut out the last five or ten minutes of the film. It was a surprisingly shocking and unsatisfying way to end this particular story. Show the audience the consequences at least in a very minor way but don't leave it completely up to the imagination, that's just not the type of film this was.

Ever since her sister had gone missing, Jax (Lily Gladstone) has been caring for her niece Roki (Isabel Deroy-Olson). They scrap by as they prepare for the upcoming powwow. Roki hopes to find her mother there while Jax desperately searches. There is little help from the authorities. With her criminal past, Jax is seen as unfit to be Roki's guardian. She loses Roki to her father Frank (Shea Whigham) and his white wife Nancy (Audrey Wasilewski).

This has good reality to this modern day native American culture. The big name here is Lily Gladstone although Isabel Deroy-Olson is a great new discovery. It's a road trip. It's a mystery. It's a fugitive movie. It's a cultural exploration. It's family trauma. It's great.

I watched this film this morning on Apple TV+. After watching Killers of the Flower Moon, I became interested in Lily Gladstone.

The composition of its characters was a typical child and relative story. A protagonist happens to take over their relatives's child and has to go somewhere.

Although they encounter many challenges on their way somewhere, they work to resolve them and refine their relationship. During the journey, the protagonist has to assume the role of a parent to protect and discipline the child.

Consequently, the journey ends for unpredictable reasons. Unfortunately, we cannot help but see the protagonist's sacrifices from time to time.

It's a beautiful story. When I was 13, my older sister ran away from the orphanage where we lived together after my dad passed away. I didn't know what I was supposed to do. I recalled a man who helped me search for her around all my relatives.

This movie is pretty forgettable. The story is a tad uninteresting but it isn't necessarily bad. The character dynamics and interactions are solid for the most part. The directing gets the job done but there's nothing memorable or unique about it. The elements of Native American culture are cool at certain points but I think the movie needed to dive into it more. The ending is nice in theory but it feels unearned. I think the biggest problem with this movie is that there's a solid emotional story somewhere in there but the film is too bland to get any sort of reaction. The main character makes a lot of questionable choices to put it lightly and instead of exploring the nuance that's there in the character, the film just brushes past it. This is pretty frustrating when Lily Gladstone would've done a great job with some more complex scenes.