Cast: Melissa Leo, Ciara Bravo, Cristela Alonzo, Mia Rose Frampton, Fatima Ptacek
Critics Rating: 3 out of 5
Director: Jessica Hester and Derek Schweickart
Duration: 1 hour, 33 minutes
Genre: Drama
Release Date: 04/08/2022
Available on: Apple, Amazon, and Vudu (links currently available on RT, film also available on Google, Xbox, and Hoopla) Type of Release: DDT, now on TVOD.
Story:
Rooted in a small town of Californian farming community, ‘Coast’ is all about 16-year-old Abby, who finds herself bored to the point of suffocation, thanks to her small-town life. What will she do to help herself out of this?
Review:
Life is boring in general for Abby (Fatima Ptacek) but she has some interesting friends around her. Things turn a shade brighter when she meets a handsome about-to-leave-town lead singer of a touring rock band. Now, Abby finds herself at the crossroads and has to make an important decision that can turn her life around or up-side down. ‘Coast’ is actually a coming-of-age drama and those teenage years when your whole life is ahead of you and the decisions you take shape your life. It also has the other teenage problems, a love story, and a story about ethnicity and history, thrown in for good measure.
The film is a slow burn, but it also helps you understand each character, the rudimentary lifestyle in a small farming town is very well captured, and you feel the boredom that the lead character is facing. Abby’s mother Debora (Cristela Alonzo), is supposed to be going through a divorce and that apparently changes the fabric of their life, and Abby starts to rebel more, even though their relationship dynamic is always up for debate. Abby is silently taking the divorce harder than it would have appeared to her mother. The typical teenage girl and fights with her mom is too routine and could have been handled better. Also, what makes me wonder is why is Abby pissing everyone off and why does everyone seem to put up with her selfish attitude.
Well, eventually there comes a night or shall we say an open mic night, when things come to a boil for Abby, and she must decide if she can leave all that she finds toxic behind and embark on a new journey with strangers albeit full of promise of a better life – a life she always craved for, and possibly a shot at love and career too or she can continue living with a caring mother and friends. What will she do and why, remains to be seen.
The film’s vibrant ensemble cast is anchored by Fatima Ptacek, who is brilliant and sincere. Cristela Alonzo, Kane Ritchotte, Ciara Bravo, Mia Rose Frampton, Andres Velez, Shanda Renee, Mia Xitlali, Victoria del Rosal, Paul McCarthy-Boyington, Eduardo Roman, Kaylee Kamiya, and Melissa Leo are aptly cast and perform their parts adequately well, however, none of them get to shine beyond a point as its all about Abby.
Directed by Jessica Hester and Derek Schweickart, the film manages to keep you invested, with a script that is detailed and nuanced. What could have been better is the pace of the film, and better shaping of characters, which are good but none of the character makes you fall in love with them. There was ample scope to flesh out a certain characters which would have helped the audience connect better with them. But even with all its flaws, ‘Coast’ manages to sail through with moments that make it a heart-warming story of human relationships and the power of music.
ReviewRon 