I felt like like I was a part of it, like tagging along on a road trip with strangers. It has a few heavy scenes, uncomfortable to watch but at the end of it it felt like a feel good movie as a whole. It portrays the struggles and realities of people born on the harsher side of life, but more so the freedom; we see Star(who's played by Sasha Lane and I can't praise her performance enough) angry and burdened by her siblings and seemingly abusive father, so when she meets jake, who's also played well by Shia, she sees a way to escape all that, do something for herself for once... and maybe fall in love while she's at it. As much as I love it, it's not perfect. There were a several scenes that were probably unrealistic like star continuously jumping into questionable strangers' vehicles with no real consequence; sure it would have been predictable for a couple of those instances to end terribly for her, but that's because that's reality. A little more character depth was due as well and there were several scenes already in the movie that could have aided that, it could have increased my rating. What's really been bothering me since I watched it though is where the blood Jake came all covered in came from close to the end of the movie.
It has beautiful moments, occasionally good scenery and intoxicating freedom of youth, but it just keeps going on and on and on so the movie is pretty long. Some say the acting was pretty bland especially by Sasha Lane but I think it was spot on, made the character feel like she was being herself, not just acting like it which made it believable.
So I still love it. Shows the lives of those the American dream missed and for the most part, it felt believable despite some inaccuracies. It doesn't really shove a message down your throat; on the surface it could be a story of love, of people chasing freedom and dreams, of surviving despite it all; but under the surface I also think it speaks to the exploitation of children among other things. I know Star said she was 18 but she could have easily been 15 and lied just to escape her life at home and make a buck, same with any of the other drifters who tagged along. There are several other subtle subplots and scenes at display here that could raise questions when it's properly analyzed but the film keeps them as just subtleties. I also like how they didn't make Star a stereotypical "came from a hard life so I'm now street smart" girl, she gives more of a cowgirl vibe. A different way of perceiving America.
It has beautiful moments, occasionally good scenery and intoxicating freedom of youth, but it just keeps going on and on and on so the movie is pretty long. Some say the acting was pretty bland especially by Sasha Lane but I think it was spot on, made the character feel like she was being herself, not just acting like it which made it believable.
So I still love it. Shows the lives of those the American dream missed and for the most part, it felt believable despite some inaccuracies. It doesn't really shove a message down your throat; on the surface it could be a story of love, of people chasing freedom and dreams, of surviving despite it all; but under the surface I also think it speaks to the exploitation of children among other things. I know Star said she was 18 but she could have easily been 15 and lied just to escape her life at home and make a buck, same with any of the other drifters who tagged along. There are several other subtle subplots and scenes at display here that could raise questions when it's properly analyzed but the film keeps them as just subtleties. I also like how they didn't make Star a stereotypical "came from a hard life so I'm now street smart" girl, she gives more of a cowgirl vibe. A different way of perceiving America.