THE CAST – Lillian Carrier, Gretchen Mol, Jerod Haynes, Tony Hale, Matthew Schwab & Iqbal Theba

THE TEAM – Lauren Meyering (Director/Writer) & Mackenzie Breeden (Writer)

THE RUNNING TIME – 101 Minutes

In one of many heartfelt scenes from Lauren Meyering’s feature directorial debut, “Horsegirls,” Margarita (Lillian Carrier) asks if her mother, Sandy (Gretchen Mol), fears dying. It’s not death that Sandy fears, but rather the thought of leaving her daughter behind, especially in a world where people are made to feel small simply for being themselves. There’s a recurring theme of overprotective love in the film that Meyering confronts with an empathetic glow. Margarita, a young woman with autism, is eager to explore the world and ready to show what she’s capable of. Sandy wants nothing more than for her daughter’s happiness, but also fears that she will be undermined and pitied. The two perspectives slowly collide, giving way to a gorgeously written mother-daughter relationship that centers Margarita’s agency at every turn. Shaped by an authentic voice in actor Lillian Carrier, who is herself on the autism spectrum, “Horsegirls” illuminates a protagonist we rarely get to see on screen.

Inspired by the life of Meyering’s friend Mackenzie Breeden, who appears in the film’s final scene, “Horsegirls” stars Carrier and Mol as a close-knit family unit. Margarita and Sandy spend most of their time together, whether belting out a song at karaoke night or sharing special meals at their favorite restaurant. Margarita often accompanies her mother to chemotherapy and interacts with fellow patients as though they’re part of the family. At home, Sandy’s diagnosis has a gentle, powerful impact, instantly recognizable for those who have lived with a terminally ill loved one. In a vulnerable moment, clumps of her hair fall into Margarita’s hands. The film sits with Margarita’s uncertainty about how to respond and lingers just enough to convey her insight. While she has limited knowledge of her mother’s condition and its severity, she can always sense when something feels off.

While Margarita and her mother share an endearing secret language, they also have secrets of their own. Sandy stresses getting a job as an entry point into adult responsibilities, but Margarita defines independence a little differently. On an evening bike ride with her stuffed horse, Cheeseburger, Margarita discovers a hobby horsing rehearsal. A group of girls, aged a decade younger than her, gallop on hobby horses (faux horse heads on a stick) to replicate the equestrian sport. It’s a choreographed mix of gymnastics and creativity. Margarita, who was never allowed to ride a real horse, spots an opportunity to prove her independence and feel a sense of belonging. To pay the Coach (Jerod Haynes) for weekly rehearsals, she gets a job working at a Halloween store and sneaks out early to keep up with routines.

Independence as a form of uninhibited creative expression shapes “Horsegirls” into something far more spirited than its coming-of-age premise. Meyering deftly conveys the pure joy of discovering your passion, and the wonder of all the possibilities it can lead to. Hobby horsing is a way for Margarita to fulfill her dream of riding horses and achieve an innate desire to connect with people. She’s a wonderfully written character, and should be a star-making role for the enchanting Lillian Carrier. Just as Margarita is integral to the rehearsal group, also rounding up their number of participants to meet championship eligibility, Carrier’s performance is integral to the film’s authenticity. She brings a natural presence and an endearing sense of humor that lights up the screen. It’s an incredibly assured performance that centers on Margarita’s complexities and diversifies the often limited portrayals of autistic characters on screen. It helps that the writing never defines Margarita by a single trait or circumstance. Her unique and layered personality shines through. In a standout recurring bit, she explains the story behind her name: her parents were drunk on margaritas the night she was conceived.

On paper, Sandy could have been reduced to the stereotypical movie mom role of either saintly or villainous. While Sandy’s character leans into the occasional cliche, particularly in her opposition to Margarita’s hobby horsing, there’s enough nuance to craft a realistic perspective. Gretchen Mol plays the role with grounded charisma and excels at letting us into Sandy’s all-consuming fear of leaving her daughter. Mol and Carrier’s wondrous chemistry throughout adds to the film’s lived-in realism. Their perspectives intersect in painfully heartfelt ways, with Margarita headed for a new chapter as her mother’s future dims. This emotional tension builds to an effectively bittersweet final scene. Sandy also has a dynamic arc in the lead-up, from needing tangible proof that things will be okay (such as Margarita getting a job and making her own dinner), to accepting what cannot be controlled in life.

The film features an endearing supporting cast, including standout work by Jerod Haynes as the hobby-horsing Coach. Haynes and Carrier share a resonant scene centered on what it means to be a part of something. When the Coach speaks on how hard people try to embody who they think they’re “supposed to be,” Margarita amusingly suggests how exhausting that must feel. Her character’s sincerity makes for some charming interactions, especially at the Halloween store with her manager, Hank (Iqbal Theba), and co-worker, Felix (Matthew Schwab). Tony Hale also shows up in a small role as Margarita’s uncle, Patrick, who gets called in as a source of comfort and brings an instantly warm presence.

There’s a majestic, graceful quality to horses that Meyering retains in her camerawork. These may be faux stick horses the characters prance around on, but they are visually dynamic. We feel the significance of what they represent, from a creative outlet to a means of belonging. Additionally, Meyering’s compassionate direction brings out the humanity in every character, giving us a well-rounded portrait defined by moments of kindness and humility. It’s this sense of community that makes the final act of “Horsegirls” a wondrous watch.

The hobby horsing competition is not about whether Margarita lands every jump or nails the choreography. When she stumbles, the moment immediately becomes uplifting. While it’s made clear throughout the film that the other girls in the group are not her real friends, they turn a stumbling block into part of the team’s choreography and help lift her spirits. The competition radiates community; it’s about the familiar faces who drive her to the venue and greet her when she arrives. It’s about the genuine friend she meets when she steps backstage, and the pure joy when she makes that first jump into a new world. “Horsegirls” shines as an endearing story about the unique, everyday passions that give people a sense of belonging.

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THE CAST – Felice Kakaletris, Paul Rudd, Jeremy Sisto & Gretchen Mol

THE TEAM – Erika Burke Rossa (Director/Writer)

THE RUNNING TIME – 100 Minutes

For so long, films about neurodivergent or disabled folks were extraordinarily limited. They still are, by and large, but there’s certainly been an increase in these sorts of stories, especially those following children. In recent years, films like “Wonder” and “Out of My Mind” have given a family-friendly look into children who just want to be accepted and treated like every other kid. Adapted from Ann M. Martin’s novel, “Rain Reign” joins this growing list of family films about a neurodivergent character struggling to adapt to a world that doesn’t function the way they want it to. Here, while many of the coming-of-age elements feel repetitive or overly familiar, the film’s frank tone helps to keep it afloat.

“Rain Reign” stars newcomer Felice Kakaletris as Rose, a 12-year-old neurodivergent girl who is dependent on routines, rules, and order. When someone isn’t following the rules, whether a schedule, road laws, or even rules of grammar, she has a tough time coping with the change. This makes things difficult for her at school, especially after she’s kicked off the bus for her disruptions, which cause a minor car accident. She’s also got a thing for homonyms and loves to find them in her everyday life, relishing the double meaning that so many words contain, helping her to find more depth in the mundane. Her own name, of course, is a homonym, as is the name she gives the dog that her dad rescues off the street: Rain. Kakaletris, a neurodivergent actress, thrives in this lead role, filling her lovely performance with the anxiousness of feeling out of control. Her measured delivery lets us see behind Rose’s shields and feel her heartache and frustration, even if she seems straight-faced on the outside.

Rose’s dad, Wesley, played by Jeremy Sisto, cares for her mostly on his own. Her mom died many years ago, though he didn’t have the heart to tell Rose that; instead, he told her that she had left. When Rose is kicked off the bus, it begins a challenging run for Wesley, who is barely hanging onto his job as a mechanic, and can’t afford to lose hours to take her to and from school. Thankfully, his brother, Rose’s Uncle Weldon (Paul Rudd), offers to step up, even though the brothers aren’t very close. Wesley is a gruff, frustrated dad, barely hanging on. Yes, Rose brings challenges, but it’s his emotions that are frayed. Past trauma is catching up to him, and it’s making caring for his daughter quite the challenge. Sisto brings a good deal of depth to a role that could’ve been one-dimensional in lesser hands. Rudd, back with Sisto in an unexpected “Clueless” reunion, is his polar opposite, caring for Rose with greater gentleness and connection. As Wesley’s past traumas start to catch up with him, Weldon picks up the slack, providing more stability for Rose.

While there are one or two animated flourishes that bring Rose’s homonyms to life, the filmmaking in “Rain Reign” is relatively straightforward. But director/writer Erika Burke Rossa brings a great deal of empathy and restraint to this sensitive story, letting the backstory unfold slowly and letting us into Wesley’s pain a little at a time. Rossa takes care to peel back Wesley’s layers a little at a time, allowing us to understand better why he’s having such a hard time as a father. The story swirls between showing who cares for Rose, who cares for Rain, and who cared for Wesley as a kid, ultimately creating a moving portrait of family and love.

As a coming-of-age middle school story, it straddles the line between grown-up storytelling, such as Wesley’s struggles with parenthood, and a more family-friendly side, with Rose caring for her dog. Even Rose’s narration, which drops in and out, feels clunky and forced, holding the viewer’s hand to tell them what Rose is doing and feeling, even though Kakaletris is plenty capable of getting that across without it.

Like the homonyms Rose loves so much, some of the film’s meanings resonate more deeply than others. “Rain Reign” rarely surprises, but its compassion, both for Rose and Wesley, and their challenging dynamic, make this familiar material difficult to dismiss.

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THE CAST – Morena Baccarin, Benjamin Bratt, Edward Burns, Minnie Driver, Brian d’Arcy James, Julianna Margulies, Gretchen Mol, Campbell Scott & Patrick Wilson

THE TEAM – Edward Burns (Director/Writer)

THE RUNNING TIME – 117 Minutes

Ever since films could talk, they’ve been obsessed with rich, good-looking (white, it almost goes without saying) people and their marital problems. People go to the cinema to escape their humdrum lives, and seeing wealthy people going through similar struggles can be reassuring in some ways; not even money can save you from a philandering spouse! Woody Allen essentially perfected the genre in the ’70s and ’80s with masterpieces like “Annie Hall” and “Hannah and Her Sisters,” and since then, other filmmakers have put their stamp on the genre in different ways. Edward Burns began his career as a writer-director with this kind of film, “The Brothers McMullen,” which won the Grand Jury Prize at the 1995 Sundance Film Festival and became the first film ever released by Fox Searchlight. Nearly 30 years later, he’s revisiting the genre that made him with “Millers in Marriage,” assembling quite the cast: Juliana Marguiles, Patrick Wilson, Gretchen Mol, Benjamin Bratt, Minnie Driver, Campbell Scott, Morena Baccarin, and Brian d’Arcy James.

You can see why Burns would attract such talent to this project, even aside from his history. The characters in “Millers in Marriage” are well-drawn without being so bogged down with detail that the actors have no room to explore. The discussions they have are likely relevant to the actors’ own lives (since they’re of the same age and class as the characters), and the use of flashbacks within flashbacks allows them to play the characters at different points in their lives. The film follows the three Miller siblings as they navigate their middle-aged relationships: Eve (Mol), a former rocker and current empty nester whose husband (Wilson) is always either out on tour with the bands he manages or drinking himself stupid; Maggie (Marguiles), a successful novelist whose novelist husband (Scott) hasn’t written anything in years; and Andy (Burns), an artist whose new relationship with Renee (Driver) is threatened by the reappearance of his former wife Tina (Baccarin). 

Each sibling has recently been tempted by an affair. Eve, adrift since her kids have left for college, has been considering returning the affections of a music critic (Bratt) who wants to interview her about her heyday. Andy is completely thrown off by his ex reappearing with amorous intentions after she suddenly left their marriage of 15 years, especially since Renee was her former friend. Maggie, reaching her limit with her husband’s antisocial tendencies, inability to write, and passive-aggressive feedback to her writing, has started looking at the local handyman (d’Arcy James) hanging around their country house. Can any of them find fulfillment?

That’s it. That’s the whole movie: a bunch of vaguely connected 50-60-somethings fretting about their spouses, dithering over whether to have an affair and talking to each other about how and why they’re so screwed up and unable to be happy. It’s a paper-thin plot that Burns tries to beef up by including flashbacks to previous events that flesh out the characters and their backstory instead of just having them talk about their past. The way the narrative curlicues around is both the film’s greatest asset and biggest weakness: Some of these flashbacks are so long that they threaten to stall whatever little momentum the film can create, but they’re also the film’s only real source of personality, as it’s so bland that it perfectly matches the many shades of beige the siblings prefer in their interior decorating. The cast commits and turns in very fine work, as you’d expect from actors of this caliber. None of them can turn in their best work, though, saddled with one-note characters spouting facile pop psychology whenever they’re not acting conflicted about the bad situations they’ve gotten themselves into.

There’s nothing exactly wrong with any of this, but it leaves you wondering what was the point. “Millers in Marriage“ is the blandest of yuppie cinema. Burns’s screenplay lacks the biting wit of someone like Nicole Holofcener (“You Hurt My Feelings“), and his direction lacks the energetic pop of someone like Nancy Meyers (“It’s Complicated”), two filmmakers who have also made their name with exactly this kind of film. With nothing of interest happening on screen and a cast of talented actors putting in fine but unmemorable work as characters so myopic they can’t think of anything outside their own experience, one has to ask why we’re still making this kind of film. We shouldn’t condemn a whole genre just based on one bland example of it, but “Millers in Marriage“ is such a whiff of a film that you can’t help but want to do so.

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THE CAST – Lily McInerny, Jonathan Tucker & Gretchen Mol

THE TEAM – Jamie Dack (Director/Writer) & Audrey Findlay (Writer)
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THE RUNNING TIME – 114 Minutes

“Palm Trees And Power Lines” may be the most polarizing film that showed at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival earlier this year. With a tough subject matter at the forefront of the film’s main storyline, it is easy to see why some audience members would be hesitant to check this one out. As a film that deals with the issues of the power dynamics in a sexual relationship between a 17-year-old and a 34-year-old, it does not add much to a conversation that has already had so many stories already told about it. There is nothing new here, and given how traumatizing the material may be for some viewers, it is fair to question why the film exists in the first place. However, when a filmmaker handles a subject matter such as this as tastefully and as well as Jamie Dack does with “Palm Trees And Power Lines,” it can be a powerful reminder and, in some cases, an eye-opening experience.

Director and screenwriter Jamie Dack does not sugarcoat the dangers of a relationship like the one Lea (Lily McInerny) finds herself in with Tom (Jonathan Tucker). The pacing may be unhurried, but that creates the necessary emotional impact when the hard-hitting final act occurs. The audience is given time to follow Lea, place themselves in her shoes, see the group of people that she associates with, and understand how a misguided 17-year-old could find comfort in someone that gives her attention. The slow burn also helps to reveal the warning signs of Tom’s actions slowly to both Lea and the audience. The direction throughout is strong, but Dack’s screenplay is the film’s true highlight. Starting from how Lea could find herself safe with him when he defends her in a conflict, there are little moments within the screenplay that showcase Tom’s control over her, which becomes more dangerous and terrifying as the story progresses.

As well-intentioned as Dack’s storytelling is, it will fall apart if the leading performances are poor. Fortunately, that is not the case here, as both performances by McInerny and Tucker are excellent. Having only been featured as a backing role in Elton John’s “Tiny Dancer” music video before this, McInerny gives one of the undersung breakout performances of the year and has undoubtedly made a name for herself with this astonishing portrayal. On the other hand, Tucker has had quite a career up until this point, and his appeal helps create a persona for Tom that is easy to be attracted to at first. Tucker’s performance gives his character extra layers as he shows a more sinister side to Tom than what is initially visible, making the performance all the more convincing due to how authentic it comes across.

“Palm Trees And Power Lines” is a film that is hard to recommend to people, given the difficult subject matter of watching a young woman slowly fall for a man who is not everything he initially presents himself to be to her. We know how this story will go, and it is one that I will probably never revisit due to how upsetting ti can be. It certainly is not an easy watch, and there are plenty of reasons why the film does not work for some. However, painstaking care is taken to ensure Lea’s character is fleshed out and the story is shown from a female’s perspective. It’s an admirable effort, even if the story is depressingly predictable. The slow-burn pacing and respectful handling of this particularly distressing and sensitive subject matter make “Palm Trees And Power Lines” one of the best at telling a familiar but vital story. Now that it’s nominated for four Film Independent Spirit Awards, more people will likely watch it, decide for themselves how they feel about it, and will hopefully make a difference in how perceptions on the issue of inappropriate relationships are discussed rather than what some male-made films have inspired over the last couple of years.

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