Kajillionaire Review
Filmmaker and artist Miranda July is many things like offbeat, iconoclastic ridiculous, and offbeat — but one thing she's far from being prolific is. The first time she released her iconic calling card Me And You And Everyone We know in 2005, she took six years for her to follow-up to release The Future and now a additional nine years to release Kajillionaire. It's a joy to be able to say it's worth the long wait. The July stock-in-trade is perfectly watched, exquisitely crafted models of characters that reside on the fringes of society and don't have much to do with normality, and broken people frequently full of yearning. Kajillionaire is a masterful hit on all these touchstones, however this time in the context of a genre that is traditionally male-dominated.
For the reason that for about an hour Kajillionaire is Miranda's version of a con film that's a sort of "Ocean's 3" with bad clothes. The Dynes are an unorthodox family of thieves including dad Robert (Richard Jenkins) and the mother Theresa (Debra Winger) and daughter Old Dolio (Evan Rachel Wood) -who's scams are distinctly small: stealing a post office safe-deposit box which earns them an award (Wood can indulge in hilarious cat-burglar sagas) Returning dosh-filled gift cards to reward Old Dolio pretending to be pregnant and participating in a "positive parenting" class in exchange for money. The motivation to become more ambitious is when they have to pay their strange-voiced owner (Mark Ivanir) $1,500 for rent in order to be able to stay in an office that's walls are constantly covered in soapy suds in pink which must be disposed of in buckets (this may represent Peak Miranda July). Then, having won the chance to go into New York in a comp and a grift, old Dolio is the reason for her name that is a genius who has a plan to get insurance for flights (to approximately $1500) through a fake lost luggage. Although the grift does not work as planned but it does attract an exuberant, chatty Melanie (Gina Rodriguez) into their circle.
Perhaps Evan Rachel Wood's finest movie performance.
At this point, Kajillionaire shifts the direction of his story. In the gang, Melanie invites them to an escapade where they make their ways into the lives of OAPs in the hope of acquiring items to sell however, they are surprised when they meet an elderly man who is obviously dying, and start to appear like normal family to help the man on (no in fact it's the peak of Miranda June). Melanie is a mirror to the eccentric family, and especially opens the eyes of Old Dolio to the type of warmth and affection from family members she's never experienced.
The way this story unfolds is awe-inspiring, relatable and delicate. This may be Wood's most memorable film performance, as an unmotivated girl with an uninteresting voice and straight, long hair that slowly finds a way be vulnerable. In addition, Rodriguez is an absolute delight and brings life to the stale family unit, but showing the depths hidden underneath the blustery cheer. Their love story is the highlight of the adventure that July takes us on. The film begins with a scam. Then it ends with a conclusion.
