REMY & ARLETTA
(director: Arthur De Larroche; screenwriter: Micaela Wittman, based on the book by Wittman; cinematographers: Paige Hochstater, Alex Hrisanthopoulos; editor: Micaela Wittman; music: Simon Wilcox; cast: Micaela Wittman (Remy), Riley Quinn Scott (Arletta), Amy Benedict (Eileen), Bobby Hogan (Joshua), Ashley Grant (Peyton), Arthur De Larroche (Greg), Noah Freeman (Keith), Heidi Fecht (Martha), Vas Provatakis (Keifer), Satchel Clendenin (Matt), Dexter Farren Haig (Newt), Rob Moore (Jim); Runtime: 71; MPAA Rating: NR; producers: Micaela Wittman, Arthur Diennet; Diennet Productions/Prime Video/ Synergetic; 2023)
“A sensitive and earnest LGBTQ+ coming-of-age teen girl story.”
Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz
A sensitive and earnest LGBTQ+ coming-of-age teen girl story made on a limited-budget (with good production value) and perceptively directed by French-American director Arthur De Larroche (“Clairvoyant”/ “American Bistro”). It’s based on the book by Micaela Wittman, that tells her true story. Micaela’s also the screenwriter, editor, producer and film’s star, whose insightful story is told from her POV.
It’s set during the Christmas season in the desolate Arizona country, where Remy (Micaela Wittman) lives with Eilene (Amy Benedict), her abusive, alcoholic and religious mother (studying to be a Jehovah’s Witness with her daughter), with whom she shares a squalid motel room. Remy’s best friend is her high school senior classmate Arletta (Riley Quinn Scott), a good student and an aspiring dancer with a stable home-life. Friendship with her is viewed as a life-saver.
The sex scenes that arise between the girls, on Arletta’s advances, takes place off-screen, as the film explores the experimental external life for the girls trying to figure out how to navigate a world that can be so limiting for them at their age.
The story percolates when breezy, but hits a nerve with its unsentimental rawness as it relates to how chaotic life can be for the queer teens.
The film is authentic even if some of its dramatics are questionable. Remy shows both her frustrations in real life and fantasizes what life could be like after school when she will go out into the world.
REVIEWED ON 6/12/2024 GRADE: B