Electrick Children (2013)

I love this movie so much

The Worst Film Ever

Save your money for something good and enjoyable

Good movie but grossly overrated

Electrick Children is the best kind of indie film, about characters unlike any you've probably seen before, experiencing genuine human relationships under intriguingly unusual circumstances. The scenes and characters stay with you in an almost haunting way long after you've watched it. More than just about any other film I've seen, Electrick Children "got" the true essence of a mother-daughter relationship, and there is much more to the story than that. You get the sense that the director genuinely cares about these characters and offers the viewer an honest, almost voyeuristic view of their lives. This film is no slapstick comedy, but it does have humor and warmth.

This is an amazing job for a first feature film by a writer-director who was still in film school. A fine effort by a talented amateur with very little money on hand.But, seriously, it's not a particularly good film overall. It starts strong--the scenes in the religious country home all ring true. I think that's because this is the part that the writer-director was actually familiar with in real life. Once Racheal gets to Vegas, however, the movie falls apart into random, loosely connected scenes that feature what seems to be very, very poorly improvised dialog. The poor actors just seem to be at a loss as to what they are supposed to be saying or doing. And the effect isn't "natural," it's just the opposite. You are totally aware that these are actors trying to think of what to say and do, not real people who just don't know what to say. Like a bad home movie or a the plot part of a porno. Incongruities abound as Racheal, who was so sheltered that she had never heard pop music, talked on a cell phone, and didn't even know what a tape recorder was all the sudden starts tossing around terms she would never have heard before like "rock and roll" and "cell phone." And the revelatory scene (can't tell you what it is)is implausible beyond belief. It, and many other parts of the Vegas section, was an interesting idea that the filmmaker apparently just didn't have time to work out in a way that worked.The acting was pretty good, when dialog was scripted. Billy Zane as the religious nut dad was smooth and professional, but seemed way too nice and reasonable to be the relative heavy of the piece; a hint of darkness in dad would have made the whole movie a bit better. The woman who played the mom was very good too, in a limited role.The guy who played Racheal's newly found boy friend was easily the most accomplished young performer in the movie, even handling his part in the pointless, rambling Vegas scenes as though he actually knew what was going on (I don't think anyone else did).But I have to say that, when they were given written dialog, the other young performers were for the most part very appealing. The girl who played Racheal was quite charming. She drifted from sheltered religious cult girl to valley girl without warning, but she was very expressive and had a good presence.But overall, what we have is a very good 20 minute short film about a girl in an isolated Mormon cult who discovers rock and roll. And that is followed by over an hour of what seems like a first draft of a story that the filmmaker hoped would come together as they went along.And who knows? If she had been afforded the time and resources of even a low budget Hollywood film, maybe she could have brought it together at that. There is obvious talent there!

Electrick Children was an awesome movie....or could have been if the story had some work on it. Rory Culkin and Julia Garner are the reason why this movie was saved. The bright innocent eyed Rachel (Julia Garner) shows us the true meaning of innocence while Clyde (Rorry Culkin) takes her and her brother for a ride of their lives. Rebecca Thomas (Director/Writer) had an amazing story on her hands if only she knew how to end it without so many plot holes in her film. I give this a 7/10 because it wasn't a BAD film, I just wished that it was worked on a little bit more before releasing the film. Maybe then people might be able to appreciate the film a little bit better and hopefully more people will recognize the potential that this film could of had.

I am a huge fan of indie films. When I came across this the other night I added it to my netflix list to watch. I started watching it last night and couldn't wait to finish it today. This movie's story line is genius. I would have to say that the way the story develops is brilliant. I love the fact that my brain was stimulated the whole time. There were so many levels to this movie, which made it so very intriguing to watch.Now can I just say this... Rory Culkin is sexy in this film. I don't know quite what it is, but I get these weird attractions sometimes. I don't want to get into detail about the movie, but I suggest you watch it. I was hooked. After the movie was over, I was like that was a great movie.<3 Heather May