DRAMA: “Beauty Mark.” / “The World Made Straight.” / “Della's Gone.”

“Beauty Mark” (2017, Amazon Prime) drama inspired by true events, follows a poverty-stricken young mother who has to get money from a man from her abusive past in order to save her family. The film explores the interconnected themes of abuse, cycles of abuse, systemic poverty, addiction, and race.

       Those are huge subjects to tackle in 1 hour and 27 minutes so writer/director Harris Doran only gave us Auden Thornton to channel Angie Simms as the center. And that's all although the movie still left unanswered questions that usher deeper, lengthier discussion. 

       A nagging question: If Angie isn't financially desperate, would she still pursue the case? Anyhow, this indie is definitely a breakthrough for Ms Thornton. 🎥💻📽

“The World Made Straight” (2015, Amazon Prime) drama. In a rural Appalachian community haunted by the legacy of a Civil War massacre, a rebellious young man struggles to escape the violence that would bind him to the past. 

       That's a grand plotline for a novel but seems impossible to squeeze in 2 hours of a feature film. Especially that other back stories are thrown in. There is a family feud alright but not fully navigated or explored. Central is the story of a 17-year old man (Travis Shelton, played one-dimensionally by Jeremy Irvine) who gets tangled up with drug dealers in the mountains sometime in the 1970s, diving deep into film noir/pulp territory while occasionally flashing back to Civil War-era brutality.  

       The story of ex-school teacher Leonard Shuler (Noah Wyle) begs elaboration despite his prominence in the story but that's it. Anyhow, this movie was shot in my neck of the woods in Western North Carolina, which first caught my attention. 🎥💻📽

“Delia's Gone” (2022, Hulu) drama film written, directed, and produced by Robert Budreau, based on a short story by Michael Hamblin entitled "Caged Bird Sing." Story: Small town Ohio. Accused of murdering his sister, a man with an intellectual disability embarks on a quest to clear his name and find out who's responsible. The plot seems compelling with intriguing backstories as kicked off by the first few sequences. But somewhere somehow the tension and excitement died out. 

       With bankable stars Marisa Tomei as Sheriff Cole and Paul Walter Hauser as Deputy Walston, I expected a more engaging drama. But lead actor Stephan James as Louis is stereotypically “lifeless.” 🎥💻📽

GAVE UP. <>“Babygirl” (2024, Amazon Prime) erotic thriller. Nicole Kidman stars as a high-powered CEO who puts her career and family on the line when she begins an affair with a much younger intern (Harris Dickinson). The second Nicole Kidman that I gave up in a month’s time, the other was “Holland.” Both are praised by critics but still these movies bore me.