Palm Trees and Power Lines

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2:17

Palm Trees and Power Lines

R

Released Mar 3, 2023

1h 50m

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

90%

Tomatometer

77 Reviews

76%

Popcornmeter

50+ Ratings

Seventeen-year-old Lea (Lily McInerny) spends her summer break aimlessly tanning in her backyard with her best friend, tiptoeing around her needy mother, and getting stoned with a group of boys from school. This monotony is interrupted by a chance encounter with Tom (Jonathan Tucker), an older man who promises an alternative to Lea's unsatisfying adolescent life. But as things progress between them, red flags about Tom's life begin to surface, and Lea chooses to ignore them. Under Tom's influence, Lea begins to see her mom as unfit and her friends as a waste of her time. Isolated from those around her, Lea discovers Tom’s true intentions and finds herself in a situation that she never could have imagined.

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Critics Consensus

Palm Trees and Power Lines tells a difficult story with searing skill -- and marks Lily McInerny as a young actor with brilliant potential.

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Roxana Hadadi

New York Magazine/Vulture

The relationship McInerny and Tucker build is so convincing in its mixture of exploitation and yearning that Palm Trees and Power Lines capably secures what Lea desires most too: your attention.

Mar 8, 2023

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Richard Brody

The New Yorker

Dack seems to have forced a copious personality—whether her own or Lea’s—into a framework that fits it poorly. When the payoff comes, it’s too little and late.

Mar 7, 2023

Full Review

Katie Walsh

Tribune News Service

It’s a bold, bleak and unapologetic work exposing inescapable truths about the world, about sex and relationships and power.

Rated: 3/4

Mar 6, 2023

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Brittany Patrice Witherspoon

Pop Culture Reviews

As far as criticizing the way in which the outside world condemns thee inappropriate relationship that evolves within this film, the script and direction is severely lacking.

Jul 22, 2024

Full Review

Marya E. Gates

Cool People Have Feelings, Too. (Substack)

This is a delicate drama that tackles grooming and sex trafficking with a deft hand.

Feb 13, 2024

Full Review

Noah Gittell

Washington City Paper

When you get to the horrifying climax, it’s both unthinkable and inevitable.

Jan 3, 2024

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Audience Member

Fair to say the least. Both actors are solid even if this premise is too familiar and very uncomfortable. Yet it is a pure example of why grooming is so difficult to watch and realize it’s in front of our faces. Age difference is one thing but there’s truly some things younger people are not ready for out there in the real world. A lot of long shots and some lackluster pacing, although this is a very realistic look at the struggles of supposed love, power, and sexual control. Clearly teenagers and adults should stick to their own lanes.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/13/24

Full Review

Spring H

Wow. This was at times quite difficult to watch. At 17 I also was involved with a 30+ year old man and ignored all the red flags. thank god it ended differently. While in college I learned that maybe as high as 50% of my college friends had been I similar relationships. It was quite heart wrenching to watch this unfold, especially given where it leads to…

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/02/24

Full Review

Dana K

Hard to watch but awesome portrayal. Those who don't understand the girl not running away or missing him don't know the desperation of a damaged person. Also, razvan's and especially Greg's review of this movie here are frightening…

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/02/24

Full Review

John A

The film will surprise you. And after subverting the initial expectations it becomes a fairly intimate and intense little character story. What it lacks is the ability to stick the landing.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

12/29/23

Full Review

LeoNX

for me imo the ending was so bad and so unrealistic and even stupid how she is not getting it he was using her and damaged her hurting her and at the end she miss him? bad ending!

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

09/26/23

Full Review

Nocny G

Pointless ending that makes no sense

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

07/26/23

Full Review

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Jamie Dack

Director

Lily McInerny

Lea

Jonathan Tucker

Tom

Gretchen Mol

Sandra

Jamie Dack

Screenwriter

Audrey Findlay

Screenwriter

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Palm Trees and Power Lines: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

Seventeen-year-old Lea (Lily McInerny) spends her summer break aimlessly tanning in her backyard with her best friend, tiptoeing around her needy mother, and getting stoned with a group of boys from school. This monotony is interrupted by a chance encounter with Tom (Jonathan Tucker), an older man who promises an alternative to Lea's unsatisfying adolescent life. But as things progress between them, red flags about Tom's life begin to surface, and Lea chooses to ignore them. Under Tom's influence, Lea begins to see her mom as unfit and her friends as a waste of her time. Isolated from those around her, Lea discovers Tom’s true intentions and finds herself in a situation that she never could have imagined.

Director: Jamie Dack
Producer: Leah Chen Baker, Jamie Dack
Screenwriter: Jamie Dack, Audrey Findlay
Distributor: Momentum Pictures
Rating: R
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 3, 2023, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 3, 2023
Runtime: 1h 50m

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