Tallulah

WOW! After a long time I saw a movie where I couldn't take my eyes or ears off a single frame.

The story as such isn't anything new. Each character is something we've seen before. The magic of this movie is in the way the story is told. The dialog, the characters, the acting, the pauses, and the music all comes together in just the right amount of drama, never going overboard in this highly emotional story.

It has brilliantly portrayed and written flawed characters. Ellen Page is simply phenomenal as Tallulah, a young woman living on the fringe with a golden heart but a messed up mind. Allison Janney as the scorned, sad, bitter wife also with a kind heart makes you feel for her. Tammy Blanchard as an unworthy mother, and a extremely flawed woman, yet with a good heart underneath manages to make you sympathetic towards her despite her apparently unforgivable flaws.

Oh and how I LOVE Uzo Aduba! She steals her scenes in a small part. She's simply amazing.

I also loved the end. It wasn't all hunky dory yet each character finds something worth fighting for and worth living for, despite their hopelessness.

I loved the concept and great acting. The story felt emotional (and real to an extent). Just fail to understand that unnecessary rant on India's poverty. It could have been showcased stating India has space for poor travelers like them since it's cheap but instead, the protagonist went about harping on India's poverty as if 'being poor' is India's only forte. That's not the right representation of my country. Many sections in India are still poor and one should call spade a spade but with caution. You neither have to accessorize nor denounce us. We're many good things too.

'TALLULAH': Four Stars (Out of Five)

A Netflix original drama flick; about a homeless girl, that kidnaps the baby of a neglectful mother, and then bonds with the mother of her ex-boyfriend, who she turns to for help. The film stars Ellen Page, Allison Janney, Tammy Blanchard and Evan Jonigkeit (it also features a cameo by Zachary Quinto). The movie was written and directed by first time feature filmmaker Sian Heder (a veteran writer of the popular TV series 'ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK'). The film has received mostly positive reviews from critics, and Netflix viewers alike. I enjoyed it a lot more than I first thought I would.

Tallulah (Page) and her boyfriend, Nico (Jonigkeit), have been traveling, and living in their van, for years. When Nico suddenly leaves one day, and takes the couple's money with him, Tallulah goes to Nico's mother, Margo (Janney), for help. When Margo wants nothing to do with her, Tallulah begins searching a nearby hotel for food (and money). That's when a partying mother (Blanchard) hires Tallulah to babysit her young child. When the neglectful mom returns home wasted, and passes out after cursing at the child, Tallulah decides to take the baby. She turns to Margo for help, telling her it's Nico's child. The two reluctantly bond.

The film's story seems odd, and I had doubts it would be that interesting (especially after first starting the movie), but it actually turns out to be a pretty involving film. Page and Janney are both excellent in the leads, especially Page, and the characters are both extremely flawed but likable. Heder also seems to be a pretty awesome new filmmaker to watch out for; who seems to do a great job of writing women roles. After this, I'll definitely check out her next movie.

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I don't think the plot summary of this is anything truly original or unpredictable, but boy do the writers do it really well. They do a fine job of developing the central characters and do a good job of making us empathetic towards everyone, which is always important for a film like this. You have to find a certain balance where your characters' flaws come shining through very noticeably, but where their redeeming qualities also become more noticeable as the film goes on. In this case they do. The entire cast is quite strong, with Page, Janney, and Blanchard giving some really powerful work here. It's great to see them working at this capacity and all should receive at least some attention come awards season.

I was stunned by how beautiful this movie was. I didn't really expect this much, and seeing a weak IMDb score made me want to review this film. All women should watch this film. It disregards all standard stereotypes we have about mothers, middle aged women and how we relate to each other. Some reviewers talk about it being predictable, Id say its the opposite. Aside from the general outline of events in the film, no valuable aspect is predictable. Although I cannot speak for the male audience, I am worried it plays too much on female emotions and values to be able to be a hit for both genders. But I might be wrong. It contains Oscar worthy performances and its screenplay is brilliant in itself. It reminded me a lot of the feeling I got stuck with after watching American Beauty.That feeling is still there though. Don't know about this one.