Review of Tallulah (2016) by Daniel P — 12 Aug 2016

The film tells the story of "Lu" played by Ellen Page. Lu is a homeless girl in her 20's, living in her van. She travels all across the country, digging in trash cans to eat, stealing whatever she can and seems to enjoy the way she lives. She has care-free spirit that is contagious. Her boyfriend, Nico, is a runaway and wants to try to reconnect with his mom - Margaret (Allison Janney). He hasn't seen her in two years, and would like to get back closer to home. When Nico leaves without saying goodbye, Lu is left all alone and continues going town-to-town. One day, she walks into an apartment complex and is stealing food that sits outside each door. A woman asks Lu to watch her baby while she goes out, and Lu decides to run off with the child.

When the NYPD gets notified of the abduction, the FBI joins in, and the search begins.

Ellen Page delivers another strong performance as Lu. She plays a loner/tomboy so precisely, but with girly type characteristics as well. Allison Janney also gives a strong performance as a divorced mother who seems to be losing everyone around her. The scenes she has with Ellen Page are great, they have such good chemistry - it feels a lot of times like they are really mother & daughter. Tammy Blanchard gives a solid performance as Carolyn, the mother of Maggie, who drinks constantly and appears unfit to care for her.

Director Sian Heder's story takes you through a wide range of emotions, from laughter to anger. As it progresses, it does a good job of pulling at your emotions from both sides - Carolyn and Lu. Heder shows that while both characters are different, they kind of are the same - given their flaws. Even though the tone a kidnapping story takes on is serious, there are enough light-hearted moments to keep the balance in check. The screenplay never seems too dramatic or too comedic - it has an even kilter.

Tallulah is not your typical kidnapping tale, it is enjoyable and refreshing.