News

Hazily atmospheric “Moss” chronicles the 18th birthday of its titular rural youth, to whom the 36 hours or so depicted end up seeming quite eventful — though viewers may find them less so. Daniel Peddle’s indie drama has a handsome hero and attractive photography of the coastal North Carolina locations, but isn’t quite arresting enough in mood or style to sustain a feature so slight in story terms. Still, this is no failure, but a nice slice-of-life miniature that falls a bit short, suggesting its writer-director (whose prior efforts were mostly documentaries) is just another film or two away from more expertly combining a meditative tenor with narrative content.

Pleasure Island, just off North Carolina’s southernmost coast, is home to teenage only child Moss (Mitchell Slaggert) and his father Ray (Billy Ray Suggs). The latter makes a living crafting sculptures from driftwood, a profession his son scoffs at — though...

Set in the American South, Daniel Peddle’s Los Angeles Film Festival premiere “Moss” finds former Ck model Mitchell Slaggert taking on a tricky role. As the eponymous Moss, Slaggert is tasked with playing an isolated young man grappling with a legacy he doesn’t fully understand. Motherless since birth, Moss is eager to break away from his resentful father, and he thinks his 18th birthday is the perfect time for such a life change.

Moss unexpectedly meets someone new during his chosen day of busting loose, a mysterious hiker who opens his eyes to the possibilities of the world — at least partially aided by psychedelics. What follows looks to be a lush, lyrical look at life in Southern Gothic America and the people who are tied to it forever.

Read More: ‘Thank You For Coming’ Trailer: Sara Lamm’s Documentary Goes Inside Unexpected Consequences of Sperm Donorship

The film...