Dandelion opens in a small number of theaters this week where it will undoubtedly achieve the height of its success because of the tragedy of the era into which it is released. It’s an independent film about a desperate musician in her mid-30s who enters a singing competition at a biker gang festival in South Dakota. It features what should be star-making performances and pulls off the hardest thing for movies of this type — the songs are absolutely fantastic bangers. I’d be buying stock in the record label 20 years ago. But it’s not 20 years ago, and this film faces being forgotten in the streaming era where one can click away at any time because of one flaw. The film gets better and better with each passing scene, reaching a beautiful crescendo that might even get some audiences on their feet. But the first 14 minutes or so are abysmal, and the watch time stats will also be abysmal because many will click away. I hate all the terms I just wrote down; they are all a poor way to discuss art, but I am writing them because odds are, if you’re reading this, it will be after the film’s short and limited theatrical run, and you are considering whether or not to rent it on VOD. Do it. The movie is good. You just need 14 or so minutes of patience.
“Chasing Dreams is hard.
It’s hard to quit too.”
Nicole Riegel’s (Holler) Dandelion opens with a talented singer performing to a near-empty room. This part’s good. We’re introduced to the titular Dandelion, played by KiKi Layne (If Beale Street Could Talk; The Old Guard). She’s magnificent every moment she’s on camera. Quickly we meet the film’s main hurdle, a group of extras and small-time players, seemingly from the Cincinnati, Ohio, community who cannot give serviceable performances. They leave the film 14 minutes in, but for now, one of them is telling Dandelion about a song contest in South Dakota. The winner gets to open for another musician at a biker gang festival. Dandelion doesn’t want to go as she thinks it’s beneath her. It’s only after a falling out with her self-destructive mother whom she cares for, played fairly well by Melanie Nicholls-King (St. Vincent; Rookie Blue), that she embarks on the film’s main adventure. When she arrives at the festival, we meet Casey, played by Thomas Doherty (The Invitation; Descendants 2), and discover that this is an exceptional love story.
KiKi Layne as Dandelion in DANDELION. Photo courtesy of IFC Films.
Chemistry is hard to cast for and romantic chemistry is even harder, but Karmen Leech (Joe; Age Out), Cindy Tolan (The Batman; The Fablemans), and John Williams (Joe; Age Out), the credited casting directors, hit a homer. From their first conversation, so many sparks fly between Dandelion and Casey you worry they’re standing too close to the brush. I caught myself smiling every time they were in frame together. It’s the type of chemistry many artists will find familiar and which the tabloids love to tell the public is only ever harmful and toxic, where sexual chemistry and artistic synergy are intertwined and supercharged. They can turn sour like any relationship, but Dandelion tactfully explores why these types of relationships are so fulfilling and necessary for so many dedicated artists. Together, you breathe the same air, whereas in other relationships, you suffocate each other with your separate atmospheres. Holding back your inner artist is like killing a part of yourself, and there are few deaths as painful as those where your loved one wields the weapon.
“Your Joy is defiant baby. Protect it.
Dandelion is shot frugally, not cheaply, in what looks like 16 mm film, but with minimal or natural light. It has a motorcycle shot more thrilling than all of this year’s The Bikeriders shots of roadhogs. The cinematic experience of songwriting is gripping, sensual, and sometimes masturbatory in its worship of the artistic process, and KiKi Layne is a revelation in each musical number. I find the message to be a resonant echo of the lesson that changed my own life: that we are all responsible for imagining a better future for ourselves and for those we love. Like our own dreams, Dandelion is worth it, if you can just hold on through the rough part.
In theaters July 12th, 2024.
For more information, head to the official IFC Films Dandelion webpage.
Final Score: 4 out of 5.
Share this:
Categories: In Theaters, Reviews
Leave a Reply