Shia LaBeouf is a guy I find really interesting. From a movie perspective. I know he has a bunch of shit outside of his film career, and probably a lot was caused by damage from being a teen star (shout out Even Stevens.). But from a movie perspective, I tend to really like the films he chooses. I tend to really enjoy his acting. I feel like he takes on roles that require a high amount of emotional feel. Which I always enjoy. This is one of those movies.
An absolutely SOLID FILM. 2 hours and 45 minutes and I was not bored at all. Which for a movie with ZERO action scenes and based on a group of runaway kids, traveling across the country selling magazines and partying, that’s pretty impressive.
Shia is not the main character, he plays Robin in this empathic Indie film. A young girl who just turned 18 is. She is living in absolute hell, taking care of her brothers and sisters. Has an absent mother and a dad or stepdad who clearly takes advantage of her in some sexual way. One day her life changes as she runs away with a group she meets by chance in a grocery store parking lot. This group is a group of kids from 15-25 who drive a van around the country, partying and selling magazines to support their lifestyle. They invite her along as she looks to be one of them, young, lost and vulnerable.
It is an emotional roller coaster as we follow the main character try to find herself in a harsh world, discover herself in a world that can have such highs and lows and surrounded by youth all doing the same, presumably coming from homes where they would never be missed. They are all they have. We embark on their journey and hers. I thought it was a good story with some really thought provoking elements to it. How many kids out there come from homes where no one misses them? Do not feel seen? Struggle to find a place to belong? I thought the ending was pretty poetic as well. Def worth a watch. That is a review.