360. Kajillionaire; movie review

 

 

KAJILLIONAIRE

Cert 12A

105 mins

BBFC advice: Contains infrequent strong language, moderate sex references

I wonder that I cannot see the good in anything because of the dark mood prompted by prolonged Covid isolation.

Or are studios just putting out their dross to fill the gap before Covid is over and the good stuff can return?

Some might argue that Kajillioanire is fresh, challenging and boasts a very good cast.

I can see their point - but I loathed it.

Miranda July's film stars Debra Winger and Richard Jenkins as con artists who have spent 26 years teaching their daughter, the curiously named Old Dolio (Evan Rachel Wood), how to scam.

The problem is that they are so unsuccessful she is more often required to scavenge.

During one woefully ill-conceived heist, they chance upon a stranger (Gina Rodriguez) who becomes part of their team and Old Dolio fears her place may be threatened.

That's the synopsis but it doesn't reflect how utterly bizarre Kajillioanire is.

The virtually penniless family appear to be suspicious of everyone, trying to come up with next big pay-day while attempting to avoid paying rent on their home - what appears to be a container next to a wrecking yard.

Each has a really curious way of speaking to each other and it becomes evident early on that they are incapable of love or resist emotional attachment.

Thus, it is surprising when the stranger not only shows interest in joining them but that they trust her enough to bring her on board.

This builds jealously in Old Dolio who sees becoming even more subservient as a way of gaining the affection of which she has been starved.

I just re-read my review and realised it gives the impression that Kajillionaire is much more straightforward than it is.

Actually, there are many tangents which make the storyline bizarre and difficult to follow.

For example, the strange fascination with the 'family' appears to have with owning a hot tub and the strange foam which appear through the cracks in their 'home'.

All the way there is an undercurrent that Old Dolio is being used by two parents who can's give her the love she craves.

The only question which it prompts is whether they really care about their own daughter.

Unfortunately, the film had turned me off so much that I was ambivalent about the answer.

Reasons to watch: If you are into the utterly surreal

Reasons to avoid: Makes very little sense

Laughs: One

Jumps: None

Vomit: Yes

Nudity: None

Overall rating 2/10

Did you know? Evan Rachel Wood's Wood’s first major screen role was in the low-budget 1998 film Digging to China, which also starred Kevin Bacon and Mary Stuart Masterson.

The final word. Miranda July: "Every family is kind of cultlike, has their way of doing things and positions themselves in opposition to the rest of the world." The Atlantic

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