In the multitude of movies and their progeny, an aspiring artist’s struggles are prelude to a melodrama of triumph and conflict, played out in the unforgiving glare of the fame machine’s klieg lights. Nicole Riegel’s turns that template inside out: In its fringe milieu of shadows, the yearning and bursts of inspiration, the discouragement and relentless hard work are not prelude but the main action. The story of a young singer-songwriter who’s stuck in a nowhere loop until she takes an impulsive leap, the feature is sometimes clunky but often quietly transporting, with strong chemistry between as the title character and as the charismatic musician she meets when she ventures out of Cincinnati and her self-defeating rut.
This is the second part of a planned trilogy centering on Ohio women, and, as in her debut feature, , Riegel has a sure feel for the working-class Midwestern setting. But as with that film, her dialogue tends to undercut the aimed-for cinematic impact, articulating themes with a clanging insistence. is at its strongest when the helmer lets the movie’s visual language and its music cast their spell.
Whether in soul-searching close-ups, nighttime views of the Ohio River or vistas of the South Dakota badlands, the dynamic camerawork of Lauren Guiteras speaks volumes. And the songs that the two main characters create and perform onscreen, written by ’s Bryce and Aaron Dessner (whose scores also elevated movies like and ) with contributions from Riegel .