To the Stars

Watched To The Stars a couple of weeks ago, when it first premiered on Prime, and was blown away. The details, the accuracy of the setting, the cast and their performances are very captivating. It takes me to the time when this all took place.

Please do yourself a favor and stop reading these reviews and WATCH IT. Don't spoil yourself a great experience. You're welcome!

I didn't know what to expect from this movie that I randomly chose on Amazon. Beautiful story about Iris, a small town girl stifled and controlled by her unhappy, unfulfilled mom, and by the petty and narrow minded townsfolk. Then a newcomer, Maggie, arrives, turning Iris' world into something completely unexpected, and welcomed.

Loved the film, the setting, the costumes, the acting. So many great actors in this film. I recommend it.

Iris Deerborne (Kara Hayward) is a mousy ostracized teenager in 60's rural Oklahoma. She has a troubled relationship with her mother (Jordana Spiro) and a crush on similarly ostracized boy Jeff Owings (Lucas Jade Zumann). She is harassed by the boys when new arrival Maggie Richmond (Liana Liberato) comes to her rescue.

There is a bit too much here. There are too many characters and each one has their own issue. I had assumed that this was based on a book since filmmakers often try to stuff everything from the book into the movie. This is not based on a book. The writer should simply streamline this world. Not everything has to be there. When Maggie does the big reveal, the whole movie threatens to tip over like a game of Jenga. When there is too much going on, a character like Hazel Atkins doesn't have enough time and space to set up properly. Initially, I was concerned about Tony Hale. It seems like a desperate move to go against type or maybe Tony is trying to expand his range. Either way, he doesn't easily fit the role. He does redeem his worth by the end with a more complicated character portrayal. More than anything, this is elevated by the younger cast especially the two female leads. Both are worthy to do bigger things in the future.

You really don't need to know much more about this film aside from the brief blurb currently posted. A detailed synopsis will actually diminish the experience in my opinion. The film is a black and white production set in 1960s Oklahoma. The story is centrally about an unlikely relationship between two young women. That's as much as you need to know.

From a technical perspective, the depth of field was above average even for a studio production. As an independent film, the photography earns extra points. The production was shot on location so we can't talk about set design. However, the costumes and staging were pretty spectacular too.

I was a little disappointed to learn the film was dual-chromatic. Meaning the producers and director essentially shot both in color and non-color before deciding which cut to release. The film wasn't exclusively crafted as a black and white film. On the upside though, the director obviously took care enough to ensure everything contrasted well in black and white from the beginning. The contrast is very well done and obviously extensively planned.

The best part of the film is probably the performances though. Kara Hayward steals the show in my opinion. However, there is such a long list of supporting roles it's hard to say which one is best. Liana Liberato deserves a mention as an essential co-star but the list really doesn't end there. If I had to level any criticism, I'd say the male performances didn't really keep up.

The difference probably relates more to writing than how the actors were portrayed but the difference is noticeable. All the male characters, with maybe one exception, are decidedly two dimensional. The female characters, whether by acting or writing, display a lot more depth and interest for the viewer. The distinction was obviously intentional. However, there is a problem.

Without giving anything away, the sheer volume of depth almost overwhelms the film at some points. I feel as though there were too many interesting plot lines to explore. The film might have accomplished more with less. Instead, I encountered some odd cropped scenes where you're left wondering where some of the ideas came or went.

Not exactly continuity glitches. More like questions left hanging. I won't tell you the details. Suffices to say though, the climax of the film ends up feeling a bit rushed and most of the sub-plots leave the film feeling inconclusive. One loose end was certainly intentional. However, I'm talking about the film as a whole.

Go watch and enjoy. The film is a lot more successful than not. If you have the time, you should ask yourself where the title came from. That's one of those explained loose ends.

.... maybe that was the point? I wasn't sure how to rate this because I thought maybe that was point; to leave me thinking, wondering? If so, then maybe it deserves a 7 or 8, but it just felt/feels "wrong."

I feel like the writer messed up, because I wasn't thinking and wondering so much about the character's lives (although I did want a better look into those characters & their lives) as wondering why I was left feeling like I was given a synopsis, or outline of a story, rather than actually hearing and seeing a whole story.

Indeed, now, having said that, I think maybe a 5 would be a more appropriate rating, because I just hit the nail on the head--this film was like being given an outline to what could have been a great story. Funny, having written this I now understand why I was left wanting more, and I do not believe that was the writer's point. But I'll let my original rating stand because I don't usually write reviews and maybe that means something too.... or not.