Lorelei

Where to start?

Pablo Schrieber is good as the main character however the script and story never let him develop into a believable outcome. They effectively turn a biker/criminal into a mom, who wants to run away, but can't, then nearly does.........terrible writing.

Did the trans child play any significant part in the movie? It looks like this element of the story was inserted just to get the project greenlit.

There is no real ending to the movie, so those that need closure in a movie should avoid.

Sabrina Doyle seems to be obsessed by periods having that theme in this and her other works. However she does show some talent in a languid style of storytelling, the dream sequences and editing, as a writer, not so much.

Jena Malone is wasted both figuratively and literally in this movie, her character is effectively written out of the story after an hour for......errr.....reasons.

To summarise, it's a mixed bag.

First of all I love the casting. Who says life it's easy ? A story of redemption, dreams, family, problems and love. Because love conquers all. A Beautiful Independent Movie.

This movie was better than I expected. There are flaws but they don't ruin the film. Pablo Schreiber is very good as the biker released from prison after 15 years and immediately getting back together with his high school girlfriend. Jena Malone is outstanding in that role as the girl who had trouble moving on and is now a broke, disillusioned single mother of 3 working as a motel maid. Their roles seem to shift as Schrieber's character goes from resisting temptations from his old biker friends to becoming a reluctant but responsible father figure for his girlfriend's children while she seems to be getting more unhinged and less responsible. At times the film seems to overdo the problems it throws at this family in a short period of time but the convincing acting from Schreiber, Malone and the child actors keep it interesting.

... casting kids has to be one of the more difficult parts of making a movie like Lorelei... these-three are just incredibly-special... will be watching it again sometime soon just to soak-up their performances once again... not that Malone & Schreiber aren't terrific.. they are... the entire cast deserves recognition... not-liking this film saying more about that individual than the film itself.

This is a very good film. It's visually beautiful (in the scenes where it's meant to be beautiful) and beautifully scored. I thought every actor in the film did an excellent job as well. Some parts of the film are also ugly, boring and uncomfortable, precisely because that's what is required to portray the kind of poverty the characters inhabit. Both aspects of the film are handled well in my opinion. It's a good story: an unusual mix of fairy tale and careful realism. It reminded me a bit of the old Springsteen songs I used to listen to in college. It's not perfect, but I found it nourishing (a rare experience these days), and I'll be interested to see what this director does next.

At the time I'm writing this, reviews for this film are highly polarized. I feel that the very low reviews are attacking the film unfairly, and not honest in their reasons for doing so. It's worth watching the film for yourself, particularly if you appreciate the way that beauty and ugliness can often coincide in real life.