WATCH THE TRAILER BELOW
First, the Recap:
Confronting the past. We ideally want to look back on things since gone with a fondness, but then embrace our forward progress. Some things we’d rather NOT recall, however, seem to linger. The actions of others and how they affect our lives, especially when negatively, is never easy to simply dismiss or unload. In fact, wounds of the mind and soul then shape who we’ve become–until we make a choice to seek the unshackling we need.
With only weeks to go before she graduates high school, 18-year old Rori (Zoë Kelly) is a girl interrupted. Even as she holds tight to a relationship with Hailey (Gabrielle Lenberg) while navigating the very real, tumultuous politics of the school system she experiences, Rori’s biggest challenge remains an erratic, broken state of affairs between herself and her mother Shelly (Jessica Ires Morris). Efforts to heal seem valid, yet flawed and seemingly hopeless, but can Rori find the strength to overcome it all and find peace?
Next, my Mind:
The expected angst of teenage years gets amplified to a different magnitude as the anatomy of abuse, its impact, lasting and ongoing aftermath, and a desperate search for inner liberation and relational absolution gets an explosively stirring deep dive through this 87-minute indie feature film from writer/director/producer/editor Elliot Norton, writer/producer Zoë Kelly, writer/producer/editor Chuck Norton, executive producer Rob Birkle, plus associate producers Chance Fuerstinger, Paige Harwood, Wyatt Llewellyn, and Joseph Rodman. What immediately makes this film a complete winner for me are the primary subject matters that form its foundation–mental health and parental abuse–which remain sad facts of this world in their mere existence and are so utterly imperative to recognize, address, and find consistent, enduring, HEALTHY mending from. This, of course, requires compassion and understanding, facets of life that seem in short supply currently.
Laser-focused with candid urgency and an unflinching rawness filled with both emotional upheaval and release, the narrative which sees a young girl’s last weeks of high school turn decidedly tumultuous as she journeys through the stormy waters of trauma and its associated ripple affect it has had from childhood to the present, this is the precise style of film that actually NEEDS to be seen, contemplated, and learned from. I’ve stated this a multitude of times when it comes to any project taking on the weight of mental health and abuse in ANY of their forms, because the awareness-raising potency of such efforts, when executed with the kind of purpose as illustrated here, is paramount and SHOULD collide with our hearts and minds about the importance of these issues NOT just getting dismissed or tossed aside as “Oh, another film about….”. The film’s purposefully relentless pacing while still allowing us the chance to get invested with the characters involved is adeptly constructed to HAVE the kind of compelling punch it intends, serving to cement the film’s messages in your head firmly.
With the core substance of the film established as indicated above, the forays into other thematic elements becomes just as integral to fill out the narrative even more, maintaining the air of tension that permeates the film’s atmosphere for the majority of its runtime. Both subtle and blatant, explorations of attitudes towards same-sex couples, social class, relational turbulence, coping mechanisms, the rationalizations, denial, justifications in action, overt anger with and towards others, fractured mindsets, and the damaging overall repercussions of abuse, broken/empty promises, educational politics, how our own past can shape what we ourselves become and demonstrate in our subsequent behavior, seeking help and hope, and glimpsing the potential for extending forgiveness and/or emancipation from the sources of struggle in order to find a better life all get their just due here. The finale conveys itself with resounding yet equally nuanced power and meaning, really leaving a certain amount of things to conjecture, which likewise really lends itself well to the events as they’ve unfolded and where they’ve lead us as a viewer.
For this critic, it is a one hundred percent veritable statement to say that Kelly absolutely excels throughout her entire performance here as Rori, a stable yet at the same time conspicuously unsettled teenager in the midst of her final weeks before graduating high school who’s having to confront not only the realities of youth, but of a past and present still scarred by abuse at the hands of her single mother. Even as Rori attempts to do GOOD for herself and others, triggering events keep hounding her while also thwarting efforts to see something positive in her unpredictable parent come about, whether by her own or her Mom’s choices. As things begin to spiral, it soon becomes quite apparent that the happier outcomes to all that life has and is throwing at Rori may not have such a joyous ending. The sheer scope of emotions and associated states of being that Rori encounters is so deftly portrayed by Kelly with magnitudes of rage, innocence, fleeting happiness, and touching vulnerability that define the character with poise and absolute credibility.
In the same manner but with a different level of controlled intensity and emotive force, Morris shines brightly through her role as Shelly, Rori’s addict single mother who we see from the start DOES have a heart for her daughter, but is also SO immersed within the realms of her own past, poor decisions, and current demons that it comes out in behavior that would speak otherwise. Holding blame towards Rori for things that aren’t even accurate to the actuality they’re residing within, Shelly’s demeanor towards having ANY sense of responsibility for her abusive actions is anything but constructive. Yet, always in the wake of conflict, her intent to change comes out, seemingly so genuine and loving, yet then backslides once her own coping mechanism, alcohol, comes back into the picture. Again, there IS love for Rori there without debate, but Shelly’s unwillingness to EMBRACE actual transformation keeps getting in the way. How Morris depicts this “calm-on-the-surface-but-seething-underneath” bearing is brilliant and elicits both heartbreaking empathy and sometimes jarring resentment towards the character, testament to Morris’ acting.
Primary supporting roles come into play first from Gabrielle Lenberg as Hailey, Rori’s partner who has quite a job trying to handle the building stress and volatility within Rori as her troubles come to a head. Brooke Burton is Ms. Laird, the school’s psychologist who gets involved in both trying to manage Rori’s unravelling life as well as the relationship between Rori and Shelly. Francisco Negron is Conrad, a fellow student at the school who has his own share of apprehensive attitudes to deal with but who does come around a bit thanks to Rori. Hannah Jane Austin is Ms. Stephanie, another teacher at the school who mainly tries to guide Conrad through his agitated state of mind and who initially runs a little afoul of Rori. Marc Ewins is Mr. Costlow, an apparently beleaguered teacher whose apathy towards even BEING there at school himself is only matched by his lack of true authority over any of the students. Matthew Melton plays Mr. Bosch, the school principal who tries to be encouragingly, yet almost patronizingly, proactive in defusing issues as the year is coming to a close.
Melia Kane appears as the childhood version of Rori, and does one amazing job at showcasing the true effects of the abuse the character endured and that therefore formed Rori’s teen self we witness. Additional turns come about through Dana Whitesell, Spencer Kohler, Jodeen Revere, Declan Kempe, Ellen Smith, and Patti O’Hara plus a host of others. Please, as always, know that I recognize and acknowledge ALL of your contributions, as it takes EVERYONE involved to make a film. So, in total, “Stockton To Table Rock” is a beautifully executed indie film that treats its topics with unabashed yet highly sympathetic and emotive intelligence, sharply exhibited honesty. Wholly resolute in its motive to shine a revealing light on abuse and its reverberations, the film petitions us to keep in mind that, while we’re all only human, there ARE choices to make MUCH sooner than later in circumstances such as seen here, even IN troubled times, to ideally avoid the crippling brokenness abuse untreated can initiate within ourselves and others.
STAR RATING (out of 5):
As always, this is all for your consideration and comment. Until next time, thank you for reading!
