Sean Baker's best film but not without flaws. Great acting and writing. It all felt genuine and natural. A few things that didn't work. I never got the motivation of Jane for why she befriended Sadie, nor did I buy that she was an adult actress. She is a great actress but wrongly cast to play an adult actress. The same goes for Melissa, an amazing actress but wrongly cast as an adult performer. They both lacked that edgy trash look. You just can't cast an LA model to play an adult performer and have us believe it.
There were also a couple of scenarios I didn't believe. Like the dog finding the money and chewing on it. There is no way a dog would go inside a boot and chew up money. They could have found a better way for Melissa to find the money. I know Baker likes to mix acting and improv with real people, but that can sometimes come off as fake, the same way staged pranks are fake. I never understood her friendship with Melissa either. And how did Melissa know where Sadie lived?
Also, it was too obvious it was a double during the porn scene. I think the writers got too caught up in minutia, which is fun to watch, but without ever building up to a nice climax. The ending was inconclusive and weird. Baker has potential but he needs to add more things happening in his films. Not just people hanging out.
Other than that, this is Baker's best film. Nicely shot (Colors maybe a bit washed out), so I never understood how he took a step back shooting tangerine with an iPhone.
Definitely worth watching.
There were also a couple of scenarios I didn't believe. Like the dog finding the money and chewing on it. There is no way a dog would go inside a boot and chew up money. They could have found a better way for Melissa to find the money. I know Baker likes to mix acting and improv with real people, but that can sometimes come off as fake, the same way staged pranks are fake. I never understood her friendship with Melissa either. And how did Melissa know where Sadie lived?
Also, it was too obvious it was a double during the porn scene. I think the writers got too caught up in minutia, which is fun to watch, but without ever building up to a nice climax. The ending was inconclusive and weird. Baker has potential but he needs to add more things happening in his films. Not just people hanging out.
Other than that, this is Baker's best film. Nicely shot (Colors maybe a bit washed out), so I never understood how he took a step back shooting tangerine with an iPhone.
Definitely worth watching.