To pay for her education, and the chance of a better life, a young woman joins a dangerous scrap metal crew.
Chuck says:
Starkly rendered and powerfully told, Nicole Riegel’s debut feature looks at one young woman’s attempt to lift herself out of a dire situation not of her making. Jessica Barden gives an impressive performance as Ruth, a 16-year-old in Southern Ohio who, along with her brother (Austin Amelio), has been left to fend for herself. Her mother (Pamela Adlon) in jail, the siblings have turned to salvaging scrap metal from the many abandoned factories that dot the landscape. It’s dangerous but high-paying work, the only option they have if they want to scrape enough money so Ruth can go to college.
Shooting on 16 mm film gives the movie a gritty feel that compliments the industrial blight the pair navigate as they dismantle equipment in the abandoned factories. Riegel pulls no punches, offering no simple solutions where Ruth’s problems are concerned, instead shining a light on those who’ve been left behind in America’s Rust Belt, where opportunities for a better life disappeared over night. Barden gives a fierce performance that has us in Ruth’s corner from the start, her strength and anger propelling her towards a sliver of tattered hope.
3 Stars
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