
Stephanie Coker Hickling, a maker of visual content and storyteller, in the photo ‘Still from Dandelion’ presents her singular personality, and her intensive history by revealing her struggles to make artistic and physical creative space for herself. Writer-director Nicole Riegel’s “Dandelion” takes place over a mere number of days, but emotionally, through the character of Dandelion who seems to be lost in her own thoughts, it appears one has traveled through a whole lifetime. Dandelion (Kiki Layne) is a Cincinnati-born aspiring singer who currently sings at a hotel bar filled with oblivious customers making the most of the opportunity available on the mobile phone screen. She makes an effort to write songs, only to have them drowned in poorly organized celebrations. She is ready to go home, but not before encountering her mother with a resentful attitude who simply spends time with her in a furious brawl and the criticism that “you should not be a troubadour at the age of 40,” is, to say the least, never pleasant.
After enduring sarcastic looks from Betsy who was overwhelmed with endless chatter and muttering because of a South Dakota biker rally she organized, she looked animated and passionate as she revealed more about Casey and his friends. As it turns out, he’s an emotionally distant musician from their circle who happens to be Casey (Thomas Doherty). While knowing that he currently works “in sales,” Dandelion tries to put the pieces together in Casey’s mind. Casey believes that he is too old to be pursuing his dreams and feels as if the best days of his life are just about to come. While Dandelion gets accustomed to the new atmosphere, an intimate romance begins to grow between her and Casey who has some doubts but is still able to reveal wild passions within her.
Next comes a journey of spectacular walks in the hills, inspiring songs sung in apparent harmony, and for the Dandelion in the end a feeling of being able to put her heart into her music.
Most of the influence that Riegels’s movie has, resides in non-verbal communication. The conversations of Casey and Dandelion do exist, however, are within the pieces of music that they create, both as individuals and as a unit. One example would be the fireside scene where the two are writing a song and they get into a quarrel, during which Dandelion screams at the top of her voice which is the non-verbal representation of what emotions are to her. In the same way, some expressions of love are brought out in performance close-ups of the two during the performance fingers strumming guitars, throats let loose, eyes closed in rapture to the song.
There is no doubt that Casey and Dandelion are somehow in competition with each other during various stages of their careers. This is at the center of Casey’s frustration as he wants to go back to the same Eden Dandelion is talking about. Dandelion on the other hand sees in Casey a brief outline of the music scene and this recognition that she has been so desperately looking for.
Layne is as honest and as touching as ever, and Casey with all of the trouble and passion that Doherty exudes makes it clear why Kinsey is an unequivocal force.
Although Dandelion effectively emphasizes the characters’ feelings and thoughts, making action more meaningful than essential, there are times when she’s simply absent from the picture. There are moments that can be described where Dandelion’s narrative perspective is informally off-stage for whatever reason.
Whether through anecdotes with Casey or the film rising to the pace of its ending, the affection and patience invested in bringing Dandelion closer to the audience in the first two parts of the film feels suspended for less noble goals. However, this film is still effective, even with the halting resolution, when the rest of the screen pours with heat and ecstasy which D. Riegel’s director and the sage of her writers’s pen creates the film which is about this crazy and uncontrollable sharpness of love which makes a person develop, which is a great theme and for which the best songs are written.
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