I initially stumbled upon this movie looking into films starring Lindsay Burdge. It took a while, but it finally made its way to Prime Video.
This movie has some fantastic elements. It feels very real, almost as if you are IN the movie with the characters. It does a fantastic job highlighting the stresses of living in such isolation, farming in the tough conditions, and trying to find your way as an outsider in a small farm-town community.
The film is also visually stunning. If you are an outdoorsman, you will enjoy the scenes and backdrops of the mountain country. It does a great job capturing the feeling of isolation and just how it may feel being in the mountains for a year.
This movie has some SOLID performances, and each actor/actress nails their performance, despite having much dialogue or interaction. Mosley is a great talent and carries the movie along well enough for you to invest in his journey. The central them of belonging is accurately reflected in his interactions with the townspeople and phone conversations with his girlfriend.
My only criticism is that there are some missed opportunities to allow this movie to "pick up steam." While the small dialogue and interactions add to the feeling of isolation, I think it takes away from the development of other characters. They are only shown long enough to disappear as quickly as they come and you never really get to know them. Though this is probably intended, and accurately depicts the relationships you slowly harvest in a small town, I think it prevented the film from gaining momentum. It would have benefited from a few more interactions with the characters, and allowing some of the situations to be understood more thoroughly. Some of the situations, character thoughts, and experiences are left far too vague with the lack of dialogue and interactions.
All in all, this is a beautiful film, with a great theme. I can't wait to see how the director develops and grows in future films, because there is a TON of potential here.
