Palm Trees and Power Lines (film)

Lea is a 17-year-old girl spending the last few weeks of her summer hanging out with her best friend Amber. She lives in suburban Southern California with her emotionally absent single mother, Sandra. Lea's father is not present in her life and lives in Arizona with his new family. Lea and Amber hang out with boys their age, and Lea has a casual relationship with one of them, Jared. However, Jared only values Lea for sex and their hookups are not satisfying for her.

One night, as the group of friends eat at a diner, Lea makes eye contact with an older guy sitting at another table who winks at her on his way out. Lea's friends run out on the bill, but Lea is left behind when she hesitates to follow them. When she does try running out, a cook accosts her, but the same man from earlier intervenes and Lea is able to get away. As she walks home, the older man drives his truck alongside her and coaxes her into getting in and giving her a ride home. He introduces himself as Tom and tells Lea he is 34 years old, while Lea shares her age. Before she departs, he adds his mobile number into her cell phone.

Lea is charmed by Tom and confides to Amber that she has met someone, but doesn't disclose the details and says the guy is a boy at another school. Lea's relationship with her mom becomes further strained when she welcomes an ex-boyfriend back into their house. Lea turns to Tom for attention and validation, and he acts sympathetically to her problems, telling her that he too does not have a close relationship with his parents. When Lea asks Tom what he does for a living, he vaguely responds that he runs his own small business doing home repairs and remodeling, a job that grants him complete freedom.

Lea soon enters into a romantic relationship with Tom. When she agrees to spend the night with him, he takes her to a motel, reasoning he is temporarily staying there until he finds a new place. Lea senses something is wrong when Tom must leave the room to attend to a domestic dispute upstairs, but he insists to Lea that he was just helping out a female neighbor with her drunk boyfriend. On a day out with Tom at the beach, Lea is spotted by a friend from school, and Tom introduces himself to her. Word gets back to Amber, and Lea makes her promise not to tell anyone about their relationship. Tom also asks Lea not to see other guys, telling her affectionately, "You're mine". Lea appreciates feeling wanted and desired.

Lea and Tom are at a restaurant one day and the waitress suspects Lea is in a coercive relationship. When Tom steps outside to take a phone call, the waitress covertly tells Lea that if she needs to get away, she can help her. Confused and unaware that she is being groomed by Tom, Lea asks why she would need help, and the waitress mentions that Tom frequents the eatery with other young girls. When Tom returns, he can sense Lea's unease and gets her to talk about what's troubling her. When she confesses the waitress said she's seen him before with other girls, he plays it off and claims she must have him mistaken with someone else.

Later, while Lea is out drinking and smoking with friends, Jared mockingly jokes she has been seen "hanging out with the geriatric". Lea, angry that Amber is the one who told Jared, storms off and shows up distraught at Tom's motel room. Tom comforts Lea by telling her he loves her and reassuring her that her friends and family's opinions don't matter. He also gifts her a bracelet inscribed with an inside joke they share. When he asks if she wants to go on a vacation with him, Lea agrees without hesitation and the two head to a hotel. On their second night at the hotel, Tom sits Lea down and asks her if she can do something for him. He says she needs to sleep with another man for money, and if she loves him she'll do it for him. Having coerced her into prostitution, he leaves her with a middle-aged man. The unnamed man coaxes a reluctant Lea into oral and vaginal sex. While the man is in the shower, an emotional Lea packs her things and leaves the room, but Tom catches her in an embrace before she can leave the hotel.

Tom takes her to get food at a restaurant, and Lea uses an excuse to go to the restroom as an opportunity to leave, walking to a nearby gas station by herself. She tearfully calls Amber to come pick her up, and when she arrives the two reconcile. At home, Lea makes an effort to spend more time with her mother and returns to her usual activities with Amber. After Amber compliments Lea's bracelet, she feels compelled to try and phone Tom several times, but his mobile number is disconnected. She goes to the motel and knocks on his door, but it goes unanswered. She inquires about Tom's whereabouts from an upstairs tenant she had seen Tom helping out before, and the girl reluctantly dials his number and puts her through to Tom. Lea sobs into the phone and asks why Tom abandoned her. The film ends with Lea's affirmations of her feelings for Tom and she smiles hearing him reciprocate his love for her.

{{Cast listing|

• Lily McInerny as Lea
• Jonathan Tucker as Tom
• Gretchen Mol as Sandra
• Auden Thornton as Katie
• Quinn Frankel as Amber
• Timothy Taratchila as Jared
• Armani Jackson as Patrick
• Kenny Johnston as Jimmy

}}

Jamie Dack's short film of the same name premiered at the Cannes Film Festival as a Cinéfondatio selection in 2018.{{cite web |title=Palm Trees and Power Lines |url=https://vimeo.com/339029109 |website=Vimeo |access-date=28 March 2023 |date=May 28, 2019}}{{cite news |last1=Gates |first1=Marya E. |title=Jamie Dack Talks 'Palm Trees And Power Lines,' Filmmaking Inspirations & More [Sundance Interview] |url=https://theplaylist.net/jamie-dack-talks-palm-trees-and-power-lines-sundance-interview-20220128/ |access-date=28 March 2023 |work=The Playlist |date=January 28, 2022}} Dack said she was inspired to revisit the story and further explore themes of manipulation and consent due to a personal connection to the material and the MeToo movement, saying, "I was thinking a lot about some relationships I had when I was younger, and how, when I was in them I thought that I was in control of them and consciously choosing them for myself. But now that I am an adult, when I look back on them, I realize that that wasn’t necessarily the case. I wanted to write this character who kind of serves as a proxy for my younger self, which allowed me to explore what had happened to me, but also what could have happened to me." The script, which was written by Dack and Audrey Findlay, was constructed to show the different stages of grooming, including "targeting a victim, gaining their trust, filling a need, isolating them, and then whatever the abuse ends up being."

The short and the feature were inspired from a series of 35-millimeter film photographs that Dack took in her native Southern California. The title refers to the "suburban malaise that [Lea’s] experiencing…[which] is one of the things that cause her to be vulnerable to [Tom’s] manipulation".

The film was shot over 25 days in the Los Angeles area in 2021.{{cite news |last1=McCormack |first1=Colin |title=Filmmaker Interview: JAMIE DACK, writer/director/producer of PALM TREES AND POWER LINES |url=https://www.sagindie.org/interviews/jamie-dack-palm-ntrees-power-lines/ |access-date=29 March 2023 |work=SAGindie |date=February 27, 2023}} Beach scenes were filmed in Malibu and San Diego.

The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 24, 2022,{{Cite web|last=Lang|first=Brent|date=December 9, 2021|title=Sundance Unveils 2022 Feature Lineup, Including Films From Lena Dunham, Amy Poehler and Netflix's Kanye West Doc|url=https://variety.com/2021/film/news/sundance-film-festival-2022-lineup-lena-dunham-amy-poehler-cosby-kanye-west-netflix-1235129277/|access-date=December 24, 2022|website=Variety}} where it won the U.S. directing award.{{Cite web|last=Bergeson|first=Samantha|date=January 28, 2022|title=Sundance 2022 Award Winners: 'Nanny,' 'Cha Cha Real Smooth,' and 'Navalny' Win Big |url=https://www.indiewire.com/2022/01/sundance-2022-awards-winners-1234694341/|access-date=December 24, 2022|website=IndieWire}} It also screened at the San Francisco International Film Festival,{{Cite web|last=Lattanzio|first=Ryan|date=March 30, 2022|title=SFFILM Festival Unveils 65th Lineup, from Michelle Yeoh Tribute to 'Cha Cha Real Smooth'|url=https://www.indiewire.com/2022/03/sffilm-2022-lineup-san-francisco-film-festival-1234712736/|access-date=December 24, 2022|website=IndieWire}} the Melbourne International Film Festival,{{Cite web|last=Bird de la Coeur|first=Sidonie|date=July 21, 2022|title=10 must-see films at the Melbourne International Film Festival 2022|url=https://beat.com.au/10-must-see-films-at-the-melbourne-international-film-festival-2022/|access-date=December 24, 2022|website=Beat Magazine}} the Deauville Film Festival,{{Cite web|last=Keslassy|first=Elsa|date=July 27, 2022|title=Deauville Film Festival Unveils Competition Lineup, Including 'War Pony' and 'Aftersun'|url=https://variety.com/2022/film/global/deauville-film-festival-competition-1235326964/|access-date=December 24, 2022|website=Variety}} the Filmfest Hamburg, the London Film Festival,{{Cite web|last=Prusakowski|first=Steven|date=September 2, 2022|title=The Full Lineup for the BFI London Film Festival is Out|url=https://awardsradar.com/2022/09/02/the-full-lineup-for-the-bfi-london-film-festival-is-out/|access-date=December 24, 2022|website=Awards Radar}} the Busan International Film Festival,{{Cite web|title=Selection List|url=https://www.biff.kr/eng/html/program/prog_all_list.asp?allYear=2022|access-date=December 24, 2022|website=Busan International Film Festival|archive-date=December 24, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221224020054/https://www.biff.kr/eng/html/program/prog_all_list.asp?allYear=2022|url-status=dead}} the São Paulo International Film Festival,{{cite web |title=Palm Trees and Power Lines (2022) - Awards & Festivals |url=https://mubi.com/films/palm-trees-and-power-lines-2022/awards |website=mubi.com |access-date=28 March 2023}} the Valladolid International Film Festival, the Thessaloniki International Film Festival, the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, the Stockholm International Film Festival and the Torino Film Festival.

In November 2022, Momentum Pictures acquired US and UK distribution rights to Palm Trees and Power Lines,{{Cite web|last=Kay|first=Jeremy|date=November 4, 2022|title=Momentum Pictures acquires US, UK rights to Sundance award winner 'Palm Trees And Power Lines' (exclusive)|url=https://www.screendaily.com/news/momentum-pictures-acquires-us-uk-rights-to-sundance-award-winner-palm-trees-and-power-lines-exclusive/5176237.article|access-date=December 24, 2022|website=Screen Daily}} with a limited theatrical and VOD release on March 3, 2023.{{cite web|last=Oddo|first=Marco Vito|url=https://collider.com/palm-trees-and-power-lines-trailer/|title='Palm Trees and Power Lines' Trailer Turns Jonathan Tucker Into a Cautionary Tale|website=Collider|date=February 6, 2023|access-date=February 6, 2023}}{{cite news |last1=Lang |first1=Brent |title='Palm Trees and Power Lines' Scored Raves at Sundance, But Its Director Says No One Wanted to Buy the Controversial Film: 'People Were Scared' |url=https://variety.com/2023/film/news/palm-trees-and-power-lines-sundance-controversial-jamie-dack-1235543369/ |date=March 5, 2023 |access-date=28 March 2023 |work=Variety}}

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 90% based on 77 reviews, with an average score of 7.6/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Palm Trees and Power Lines tells a difficult story with searing skill – and marks Lily McInerny as a young actor with brilliant potential."{{cite web |title=Palm Trees and Power Lines |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/palm_trees_and_power_lines |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221224023519/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/palm_trees_and_power_lines |archive-date=December 24, 2022 |access-date=August 18, 2024 |website=Rotten Tomatoes}} On Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, the film has a score of 73 out of 100 based on 20 critic reviews, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.{{Cite web |title=Palm Trees and Power Lines |url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/palm-trees-and-power-lines |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221224023302/https://www.metacritic.com/movie/palm-trees-and-power-lines |archive-date=December 24, 2022 |access-date=March 4, 2023 |website=Metacritic}}

K. Austin Collins of Rolling Stone commented "This is a movie operating on the principle that the most routine form of this violence isn’t sensational, but subtle."{{cite magazine |last1=Collins |first1=K. Austin |title=A Terrifying Tale of a Teenage Girl Groomed Into Being Sex Trafficked |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-reviews/palm-trees-and-power-lines-grooming-teen-girl-sex-trafficking-lily-mcinerney-jamie-dack-1234687659/ |access-date=14 March 2023 |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=March 2, 2023}} Writing for RogerEbert.com, Brian Tallerico called the film "a character study that’s anchored by a moving breakthrough performance from Lily McInerny, and one that ably supports and balances it from Jonathan Tucker."{{cite news |last1=Tallerico |first1=Brian |title=Sundance 2022: Cha Cha Real Smooth, Palm Trees and Power Lines, Alice, Blood |url=https://www.vulture.com/article/palm-trees-and-power-lines-review-you-cant-look-away.html |access-date=14 March 2023 |work=RogerEbert.com |date=January 25, 2022}} Tomris Laffly of Harper's Bazaar wrote the film "goes somewhere even darker than Andrea Arnold{{'}}s Fish Tank, with a brave query into the notion of consent and a gut-wrenching parting note that feels like a scream stuck in one's throat."{{cite magazine |last1=Laffly |first1=Tomris |title=The 15 Must-See Movies from This Year's Sundance Film Festival |url=https://www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/film-tv/g38950558/top-15-sundance-films-2022/ |access-date=14 March 2023 |magazine=Harper's Bazaar |date=February 1, 2022}}

Roxana Hadadi of Vulture wrote, "Tucker’s performance here is so mesmerizingly disquieting", and he uses "the ability to temper the predatory glint in his eye with soft-spoken sensitivity" to "tremendously unsettling effect".{{cite news |last1=Hadadi |first1=Roxana |title=A Grim, Mesmerizing Portrait of Romantic Manipulation |url=https://www.vulture.com/article/palm-trees-and-power-lines-review-you-cant-look-away.html |access-date=14 March 2023 |work=Vulture |date=March 7, 2023}} Hadadi added the film "doesn't deviate from where you predict it will go", but concluded "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."

While some critics said the film felt "frustratingly underdeveloped",{{cite news |last1=Dargis |first1=Manohla |author-link=Manohla Dargis |title='Palm Trees and Power Lines' Review: A Teen's Cautionary Tale |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/02/movies/palm-trees-and-power-lines-review.html |access-date=14 March 2023 |work=The New York Times |date=March 2, 2023}} Richard Brody of The New Yorker conceded, "the revelation of [Tom's true intent], when it arrives, is a shock nonetheless, to Lea and to viewers...[becoming] clear in a powerful, agonizing scene that Dack films with a supreme inspiration of empathy and understanding distilled into a single, fixed-frame, five-minute-plus shot, during which the anguish of anticipation yields to terror and revulsion."{{cite magazine |last1=Brody |first1=Richard |author-link=Richard Brody |title="Palm Trees and Power Lines," Reviewed: An Arachnid Groomer and His Abstract Prey |url=https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-front-row/palm-trees-and-power-lines-reviewed-an-arachnid-groomer-and-his-abstract-prey |magazine=The New Yorker |access-date=14 March 2023 |date=March 6, 2023}}

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