Written by Luke Barnes
Summary
A teenage goth outsider, played by Winona Ryder, finds comfort in a boat.
I can see what this film was trying to do, but it really just didn’t come together well. The two crisscrossing storylines of Ryder’s character being abandoned as a child and then her high school isolation happening side by side with the narrative flirting with the idea of unreliable narration and time could have led to great contrast, but as it turns out it doesn’t actually lead to a satisfying pay off. I would say that is the main issue with this film that it seems to think that it is far deeper than it actually is.
I think without Ryder the film would be a lot worse, as it is Ryder manages to pull the film together with enough dark energy to keep you watching until the end. You really do believe the pain that her character is clearly going through and do also feel a lot of sympathy towards her, her character is quite well constructed and layered too which is nice.
The pace of the film is a little off and I would say it could lose about 20 minutes and be a tighter and better film.
Overall, fine but with a fair number of issues holding it back.
Pros.
Ryder
It tries to do something fresh
It is watchable
Cons.
The pace
It thinks it is deeper than it actually is
The ending is quite anticlimactic
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Another Millennial Reviewer 