Film Review: Lorelei (2020)
Lorelai is a drama that delivers a lengthy rustic tale of second chances and family that shines though not one without its flaws.
Rating: 70 / 100
Sabrina Doyle’s Lorelei follows Wayland (Schreiber), a man who has come out of prison after fifteen long years and reunited with his childhood sweetheart Dolores (Malone). From there, they must navigate their second chance at life through myriad obstacles and conflicts, both internal and external.
Lorelai inspects what it means to have a second shot at life. Do we rejoice at the prospect of starting afresh or do we crumble under the pressures of our past dreams and expectations from life? When Wayland was sent to jail, he and Dolores were mere teenagers with dreams of making it big in LA. Now fifteen years later, they are adults wallowing in their personal and professional misery. Dolores has three children, with three different fathers, none of them around, to take care of. Wayland just got out and has no job or money to spend. They are both stuck in rural Oregon with no prospects of getting out. It is thought-provoking how transformative time can be. At various points, they dream of an invisible barrier preventing them from reaching the ocean. This barrier is merely a metaphor of their daily life struggles that does let them live their childhood dreams, symbolized by the ocean.
When it comes down to choosing between one’s unrelinquished urge of living one’s dream and one’s family, what would they choose? Lorelei presents this cognitive dissonance as the two separate paths that Wayland and Dolores take in their journey. One chooses to stay back and provide for the family, whereas the other unexpectedly runs off to the dreamland. The grind of leading a rural life stricken with abject poverty can be demeaning, and even more when one has three children to take care of who do not know what goes on behind-the-scenes, and hence are inadvertently ungrateful. Add in the addictions of drugs, parole formalities, and other obstacles. Navigating through these, and leading the family out of this abyss leads to tense relationships, and keeping the family together can become even more difficult. This is what forms the crux of the film.
Independent films need to be firing on all cylinders, including the cast. Lorelai sees Schreiber and Malone do more than justice to their roles as two lost adults trying to grapple with what life throws at them. Balanced performances from both the actors allow the scenes to hit the right emotional notes. Meanwhile, the film’s pacing is certainly an issue, not allowing viewers to take it certain scenes in and fully realize their impact. On the other hand, there are moments in the film that could have been edited out, or better utilized. One particular idea would be to use them for developing the secondary characters. They are left unexplored, and they are too easily positioned to serve different purposes for the convenience of the leads’ arc. Had these characters been developed more, the film could have been a lot juicier. With a more economical use of time and scenes, its running time could also have been brought down, which arguably feels a little more than required to get the message across.
When it comes to other aspects of the film, the cinematography perfectly captures the look and feel of the place. It’s not just about capturing the physical location, but also about taking in the characters’ state. The production design complements the rustic nature of the story. Lorelai lays substantial value on realism and painting an authentic picture of a strained rural life which eventually pays off. The musical score is apropos, but nothing out of the ordinary. Finally, certain editing choices pull viewers out of its world and might appear jarring to some. There are instances where the tension is well-maintained and keeps the audience right where it should be, but those are rare.
In the end, if there’s anything that could be said about Lorelei, Doyle is definitely a filmmaker to look forward to. With her writing and direction, she creates a sublime human drama. Though not without its flaws, the vision and heart behind the making of the film is apparent. In an attempt to be more ambitious, the film may wander off slightly, only to be brought back on track by its talented cast.
still courtesy of Vortex Media
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Originally published at https://keithlovesmovies.com on July 30, 2021.
