Suncoast
Suncoast
It seems almost impossible to imagine anything that could be more Sundance-y than a teary coming-of-age film. At least, it is not such a dig at the genre. There is much satisfaction to be found in the exploration of such well-trodden territory, as Megan Park’s “My Old Ass” subtly illustrated this recent Sundance. In contrast, Laura Chinn’s “Suncoast,” one of the US Dramatic Competition, does not offer anything so special as a teeming range of common teenage movies with dull plots, unconvincing characters and unfulfilled potential”.
In Chinn’s semi-autobiographical tale, teenage Doris (Nico Parker, ‘The Last of Us’), is faced with a difficult home life where her brother, Max (Cree Kawa), is on the verge of dying, and her mother, Khristine (Laura Linney, who has a very weak character), is heavily emotional and has a hair-trigger temper. The narration is in the first person, and Doris is prudent, polite, and teenage on the verge of being cute, so much so that the girl seemingly doesn’t know how beautiful she is inside out , perhaps due to the fact that there is always an asterisk of her mentally ill brother. As soon as the family’s situation with all the waiting for Max is over, the family moves him to a hospice where Kristine begins spending the night. This is the moment, when in the Kreger case, one of the key witnesses, Paul Warren played by Woody Harrelson, appears in a hospital where Kristine took Max, while the vegetative Terri Schiavo is staying at the same hospital.
Neither Paul nor Doris explain how or why they persist in developing a gradual, unlikely friendship devoid of the authentic emotions which would resonate within the rhythm of the script, and the lack of depth and dimension that is required by it. However, Chinn manages to do better elsewhere in presenting Doris’ gradual emergence from her cocoon. With her mother constantly away at her nighttime work, she begins to host her new class friends for sleep overs and parties. For a while, Doris’ new companions – Ella Anderson, Daniella Taylor, Amarr and Ariel Martin – appear not to know that Doris is a person, which is typical considering how friendly she is. This is however not the end of the story as her social circle expands when her house tends to be the center of all parties from the school. We must admit, Chinn cleverly twists our expectations about this group, whom we tend to assume are all using poor Doris, who then introduces her to that the teens rise up to the occasion when needed the most. In that, Doris’ new clan of friends come in handy for her at the most opportune time.
However, the film fails to resolve its emotional center as it zips back and forth between the hospice, Doris’ new friends, Kristine’s obsession, and the Paul-Doris relationship. This last point, in particular, is somewhat infuriating since Paul just happens to be about in times when Doris wants some male perspective on things, which has been common throughout the story. You could almost view an entire story regarding their relationship, but really it is about everything else Doris is tackling. However, when placed on top of one another, Chinn merely touches the story which in the end seems to miss the mark of what it was supposed to be.
While watching “Suncoast” and her struggles, one wishes for a stronger presence and significance of Kristine. Such moments where she is apparently enraged are conspicuously rare in this film. The filmmakers also choose to ignore the fact that she is a white woman who has adopted a black girl. There is a scene in the early parts of the film when Doris is asked by her mother to sit at the back of the truck and she objects by referring to her natural hair. This highly built up tension shifts into a feeling of slight disappointment: Kristine, responding to her daughter’s objection: “Your hair? Really?” shrugs it off. It is not a pleasant scene.
Despite of all efforts, it is still somehow hard not to see the value in Chinn’s effort at having Doris focus on herself a little too, in slow but steady learning of conceiving herself in a different light as the bereaved sibling. For example, in that regard, she does go to Max’s prom, an important evening for Max, and deals with the consequences of her absence as an adult. From that point onwards, “Suncoast” resolves into a nice padding of closure, but if anything it does come off as a film that wanted to be something a little deeper than what the people behind it intended and I found it the off notes that define this movie’s unadulterated essence.
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- Genre: Comedy, Drama
- Country: United States
- Director: Laura Chinn
- Cast: Nico Parker, Laura Linney, Woody Harrelson
