Year of Release: 2017
Director: Sydney Freeland
Starring: Ashleigh Murray, Rachel Crow, Lance Gray, Danielle Nicolet, Sasheer Zamata, Arturo Castro, Tim Blake Nelson, Sharon Lawrence, Gage Bradley, Missi Pyle, Nick Moceri, Clement Bauer, Brooke Markham, Sabrina Haskett, Amanda Corbett, Kinna McInroe
Genre: Comedy, Crime
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 6
Watch it on Netflix
Synopsis and Review
A release from Netflix which in all likelihood has flown under the radar, "Deidra & Laney Rob a Train" is a film which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival from 2017. The film follows the story of a family who suddenly sees themselves going through an extra hard time when the maternal figure ends up in jail. The oldest sister, Deidra, who excels at school and is planning to go to college, decides to rob a train, since the family is having to fend for themselves, and their father is of little help. Her goal is to get enough money to pay for bills and also to bail her mom out of jail. She decides to enlist the help of her sister, and a local and potential love interest to distribute the results of her looting. While everything starts to go well, soon her proclivities raise the suspicion of an investigator working for the train company, who comes to town to assess what has indeed been happening.
"Deidra & Laney Rob a Train" is a film that doesn't take itself very seriously. It tackles issues of family disintegration and economic hardship in small towns, in a way that doesn't feel like a "statement" or that is trying to teach everyone a lesson on an important topic. Sadly though, it's also a film where the limited budget does come across on the storytelling and what the director is able to illustrate. For the most part the director smartly captures the relationship of the older siblings with a tone that feels authentic, where their challenges and also their complicity feels accurately represented. The film at times does come across as a TV pilot of sorts, and most of the characters are barely developed, but there's an undeniable charm and love for these characters, that makes this film watchable and easy to enjoy. It's lack of pretension, is also something to compliment the creative team on how they tackle this narrative, as it would be fairly easy to fall into the trappings of poverty or misery porn. The cast is solid, with particular highlights going for the always fantastic Tim Blake Nelson, but also for the performances of Ashleigh Murray, Rachel Crow, Missi Pyle and Sasheer Zamata. The production team is unremarkable but serviceable. It's a little film that charms even with all its limitations.
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