Palm Trees and Power Lines

First heard of this film while watching the Film Independent awards. This certainly isn't an uplifting film, but I did go in blind, only knowing the small bit on the IFC awards show for "breakthrough actor" nomination.

Going in blind it first appears to be a coming of age film that takes a bit of a sideways step, as an older (mid to late 30's) guy enters the life of a disconnected young girl, and seems a bit off but he charms his way into her life, while her home life is almost non-existent due to a single mother upbringing and her own mother's penchant for making life mistakes, and in this case repeating them. Tjese mistakes cause more distance between her and the daughter's dynamic. It also sent her firstly into hanging with friends til all hours, and ultimately charmed into what seems like an unhealthy, compulsive relationship with this new, older man.

Again, the narrative seems to take it further down the rabbit hole with the feel of a road movie starting to enter the overall feel of the storyarc---like a "forbidden relationship" that may take them on a journey. Until it doesn't.

It takes the turn that structured families fear may happen, and unstructured---feels almost inevitable.

Lily McInerney as Lea captures pure unadulterated innocence and vulnerability that this new "man" takes advantage of. Her damaged upbringing becomes her downfall, but instead of drugs and homelessness---we get something a bit more harrowing when you couple Lea's vulnerable state with her naivity.

Script is lean and mean, score is perfect in the right spots, adding tension when there is, and Gretchen Mol's role as the detached mother takes a back seat to quite a riveting performance by McInerney who is not only convincingly smart and real, it should also hit home to any parent that has a young daughter and the trepidation that some parents may feel when their daughter leaves the house making the same poor decisions that the mother has instilled. It's a dangerous cycle and the outcome of the final act shows just that. A pure gutpunch.

Pure and real independent film making at it finest.

8.5/10.

'Palm Trees and Power Lines' is about Lea (Lily McInerny) and her best friend Amber (Quinn Frankel) enjoying the summer as teenagers. After a random encounter, Lea meets Tom (Johnathan Tucker), a man twice her age, who offers to drive her home. Through a series of chance meetings, Lea develops feelings for Tom and they end up in a relationship, but she realizes too late that Tom's ulterior motives are underhanded and exploitive.

Acting and script are decent, characters are believeable, and the flow is solid. The main takeaway from this film is that Lea's mother, Sandra (Gretchen Mol) has her own busy interpersonal life and foesn't appear to take a serious interest in Lea. Her friends aren't mature enough for her, her boyfriend is a jerk, and Tom seems to be the answer to it all. The way the film presents the two of them feels organic and realistic.

Worth a watch!

Palm trees and Power Lines is the story of a bored girl who is emerging on adolescence. She meets a much older man who seems to understand her like she wishes others did.

So per my IMDb page I have seen 439 horror movies in my life... plus obviously many others. This film is without a doubt one of the most cringy and disturbing I have ever seen. This is not for the feint of heart. It also may not go in the direction you immediately assume.

The screen play is spot on , crafting a realistic story and character motivations. The acting and casting here is also very strong with Lily McInerny playing a girl 5 years younger than she is in real life to protection. You feel her frustrations with her circumstances and lack of belonging. Johnathon Tucker also plays his character very well in a role that demands a certain level of performance.

The only negatives I can even conjure up here is the entire film is shot on hand help and sometimes it becomes jarring to watch. Mundane conversations can be unappealing to look at and it isn't shot the best.

This movie absolutely nails what it was going for and should be seen by the right group of people but it isn't for everyone just the same. If you can take being shocked, offended and challenged by a take on a coming of age story - this is a great film.

This movie is hard to watch (no spoilers but there are some very uncomfortable scenes that might trigger some folks so be warned). It's a good tension driven plot but ultimately fails to move forward and ends up being not quite as impactful as it could have been.

Many of the scenes in this film are "fly on the wall" shots with no camera movement and it's like you're in the room. I applaud the director for that, it's a great way to convey tension and force the viewer to "be there". Scenes with the mom and boyfriend both do this. This technique also drives this placid kind of ethereal feel throughout.

Overall I liked this film, it just fails in the plot development part especially the last bits. It will annoy a lot of viewers and it did annoy me, but it's still worth a watch. The acting is pretty good for an indie too.

At seventeen you have a mother who's distracted, a boyfriend to whom you're clearly not attracted, it's the summer time is free, and so it's with some joy and glee, that you let an older man, have you extracted; as he takes you out and you start to get close, he treats you well, and doesn't hide in the shadows, although alarm bells should be ringing, a waitress knows what he is bringing, there's lots of cons and only one important pros; but you let him take advantage and engage, you're streetwise, have a quite mature gauge (or so you believe), he wants to introduce a friend, has something you can help distend, you could profit, and make him a living wage.

Great performance from Lily McInerny.