Holler

Holler easily imposes itself as one of the most beautiful surprises of this edition of the Deauville American Film Festival. Even if the film did not leave with a prize, it allowed us to discover a new and important voice of American cinema. After two shorts Smoke (2015) and Holler (2016), which is at the origin of this first feature film, the director and screenwriter Nicole Riegel signs a first exciting film in which we discover that the life of some Americans is far from being a fairy tale.

In the heart of southern Ohio, where, faced with a persistent economic crisis, many companies are forced to close down, Ruth Avery, a student with real potential, is forced to pay her tuition fees to work with her brother with scrap metal dealers who are not afraid to engage in illegal activities to make their business flourish. Forced to steal a book from her library to work at home or having to miss classes to work with her brother and bring home enough money to live on, Holler is a tough but hopeful film. Holler also deals with the transition to adulthood of a teenage girl having to take care of her older brother as well in the absence of a mother with health concerns.

While Hollywood cinema tends to sell dreams and show a world that is too often idyllic, independent cinema deals with more serious subjects and does not hesitate to take a very realistic look at our current society in which we do not all have the same cards in hand to succeed in life. In a society in which survival is the primary objective, we cannot afford to judge the actions of Ruth Avery and her brother who are forced to steal metals from closed and abandoned factories, even though it remains illegal.

Even if the scenario of the film is simplistic, it is undeniable to recognize that the young actress Jessica Barden succeeds in giving her character Ruth Avery a rare emotional strength and above all an undeniable added value to a film that succeeds in showing to perfection the other side of the American dream. Even if the ending of Holler is very reminiscent of one of our favorite films, Good Will Hunting, (1997), this first film shows that from now on we will have to rely on Nicole Riegel as a seasoned director capable of injecting a real authorial vision into this emotionally charged social drama perfectly embodied by Jessica Barden.

Holler (USA; 90mns)
Written and directed by Nicole Riegel
Produced by Michael Bachochin, Adam Cobb, Rachel Gould, Katie McNeill, Jamie Patricof, Christy Spitzer Thornton
Starring Jessica Barden, Gus Halper, Austin Amelio, Grace Kaiser, Pamela Adlon, Becky Ann Baker
Music by Gene Back
Cinematography: Dustin Lane
Edited by Kate Hickey
Running time: 90mns

Seen on September 8, 2020 at the Centre International de Deauville

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