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Palm Trees and Power Lines

Play trailer 2:17 Poster for Palm Trees and Power Lines R Released Mar 3, 2023 1h 50m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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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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Palm Trees and Power Lines

Palm Trees and Power Lines

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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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Critics Reviews

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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 Full Review Richard Brody 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 Full Review 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 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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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 Read all reviews
Palm Trees and Power Lines

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Cast & Crew

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Movie Info

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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