Talk about a plot twist. It's rare when I watch a movie where I expected it to go one way, but it blind-sided me as something else. In a way, I'm glad that I still can have elements of surprises along the way. All Together Now introduces immediately to Amber Appleton. She's a plucky, happy-go-lucky girl who works various jobs when she's not at school. It's quickly discovered that Amber is no ordinary teen working for money – she and her mom are homeless and currently living on a school bus. Amber's mom Becky struggles with sobriety, which causes problems with providing for Amber. Despite this enormous part of her life, Amber is so happy that no one in her life knows what she's really going through. Just when Amber scores the opportunity to audition to her dream college, tragedy strikes. Amber tries to keep her head above water but realizes that she'll need help, and there's nothing wrong with asking for it. What a joy this movie was! From the opening shot of Amber, played by Auli'i Cravalho, teaching songs to the hopeful ending. It had a lot of heart and plenty of emotions to go around that there's something for everyone. Cravalho delivered a fantastic performance in this. It proves that her iconic voice work as the iconic Moana can translate to an in-person role. Her never-ending positivity and happiness really infused her role as Amber. When it was revealed Amber was actually homeless, I was shaking because I did not see that coming. That's how good Cravalho was – she had me convinced that Amber was a well-rounded, happy teen who somehow had the time to do it all. I was cheering for her as I learned what her hardships were like and how she kept it all in. While I'm not sure what it was like to be a homeless teen, I still could see bits of myself in Amber. The film touched on complex discussions I know I don't hear about enough: homelessness. It affects a lot more people than a lot of us know, especially teens. While Amber had the spirit and hardworking attitude, she is an exception to the rule mostly because she's fictional. With that said, the film's editing and pacing really sold me that Amber was trying, and that was enough. It pulled me in that by the time the story really takes a dark turn, I sat there almost in shock. I wasn't sure what I thought this movie was going to be like, but I loved that it kept it real for more than one aspect involving teens. This movie activated an early onset stage of Sad Girl Fall. It was a lot to take in, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. Best believe I'm looking out for future Cravalho projects because she can kill any role she takes.
I need sweet old Korean ladies to sing "The Clapping Song" always.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Candy JarThis is the place where I watch movies and then tell you what I think. Archives
November 2020
Categories
All
|