Red flags appear throughout Jamie Dack’s Palm Trees and Power Lines and yet hapless protagonist Lea (Lily McInerny) is oblivious to them. Lea is a teenager out of sync with the world around her. She has a fractious relationship with her mother (Gretchen Mol) and doesn’t quite fit in with her group of friends. So when Lea catches the attention of the much older Tom (Jonathan Tucker), she hastily pursues a romance, but Tom isn’t who he initially appears and Lea is quickly in over her head.
A continuation from her 2018 short of the same name, Palm Trees and Power Lines is a steadily-paced drama that explores a troubling and troublesome relationship between a teen and her much older lover. The narrative framework is one that has been done time and time again, Dack being the latest in line to portray this cautionary tale. Palm Trees and Power Lines mixes up two of the most common interactions of this scenario; the age-gap romance (Lea aged just seventeen, Tom thirty-four) with the dangerous lover trope. Exactly where the film ventures is a point of difference to what has come before and is chillingly dark. The subversion from expectations is briefly exciting as the realisation hits that this isn’t going to be the typical ‘safe’ melodrama, before rapidly thrusting into turmoil as the depravity of the truth is uncovered.
A story so shocking and painful to watch needs both character and cast that can articulate the issues in an honest and viable way and deep thought has evidently been put into the central couple. The character of Lea has been skillfully written by Dack and co-writer Audrey Findlay. Although disconnected to those around her, Lea isn’t the stereotypical loner or easy target. She is carrying some damage and self-esteem issues, some stemming from her mother’s flighty dalliances with men and inability to put her daughter first, others from pressure to fit in with her sexually promiscuous best friend. Lea’s damage manifests itself through the usual sullen teenage spats with her mother and an uncomfortable willingness to hook up with guys from school just as a way to pass the time. An early sexual encounter with a classmate reveals that she gets no satisfaction from it, her issues dulling her ability to feel and relate to those around her. All of these thoughts and feelings make Lea a character that is lost, adrift, and the perfect target for the predatory Tom.
Newcomer Lily McInerny is mesmerising as Lea, her performance is a true definition of the term revelation and for a feature debut, this is simply stunning work. The young actor tackles the mature and complex themes and issues with tact and is careful to never push Lea too far into the ‘silly fool’ arena. Yes, Lea misses a slew of red flags that steadily become alarms before finally ending up as screaming klaxons, but she’s clearly blinded by her desperate need for love and acceptance. Left-behind after a dine and dash move by her friends, Lea finds herself in hot water with the manager until Tom comes to her aid. Not entirely without sense, Lea initially declines the offer of a lift from the concerned Tom, pointing out the dangers of riding in cars with strangers. This clearly isn’t Tom’s first rodeo though and he quickly chips away at Lea’s resolve; before long the two are chatting happily in his car. Thanks to some clever mind play by Tom, Lea still feels in control and it is this that ultimately leads to her downfall. The shift in character as the story progresses is subtle, McInerny choosing the right moments to forge forward and knowing when to reign it in. The performance is astute and an all too accurate portrayal of the personalities that find themselves in these dangerous situations.
The work from Jonathan Tucker as Tom is effortless as he plays the master manipulator with the perfect amount of charm, and just a smattering of creepiness lurking beneath the mask. Tom is a character that has been seen in multiple guises over the years, but whilst many opt to play their part as instantly threatening, Tucker pulls back, only offering little flashes to Tom’s darker side in the lead up to the big reveal. Tucker’s Tom expertly wields the triple threat of grooming, gaslighting, and love-bombing to secure a hold over his younger counterpart, and it’s all played with a quiet danger. The delivery of lines such as, “you know I love you, and you love me”, and, “nobody loves you the way I do”, chills the blood, but Lea is so in love that she takes the words at face value, romanticising them to fit her own narrative. The more experienced viewer will be quick to jump on the inconsistencies in Tom’s tales, and the convenient answers to questions, but this just mirrors the reality of those outside of these relationship dynamics. Friends of those in toxic relationships are often the first to point out the dangers, but once the control is in place (often disguised as love) concerns fall on deaf ears.
What makes Palm Trees and Power Lines a more disturbing proposition is the arena into which the final third of the film enters. Without wishing to taint viewing experiences, be warned that it contains some very intense and painful scenes. If you thought that that scene in Bombshell was bad, prepare yourself as things get much, much worse here. Everything is leading to a sequence of three moments set within a hotel room, each getting progressively worse, to the point that the last one will be watched through fingers. The uncomfortability of the whole sequence of events is made much worse when the realisation occurs that, although fiction here, very similar situations are happening across the world everyday.
A film that goes into a much darker and unexpected direction than initially expected, Palm Trees and Power Lines makes for a bleak and distressing watch as the audience witness the brutilising of youth and the disintegration of innocence. Powerful and painful, Dack’s eye-opening directorial feature debut scorches the soul with its frank portrayal of the fate of so many of the vulnerable.
Palm Trees and Power Lines
Summary
A breakthrough performance from Lily McInerny commands your attention, drawing the viewer into this horribly uncomfortable and grimy tale. Powerfully painful, Palm Trees and Power Lines may be an early contender for the most intense and uncomfortable film of the year.
Palm Trees and Power Lines was reviewed at Sundance 2022.
