- Starring
- Julia Savage, Simon Baker, Yael Stone
- Writers
- Huna Amweero, Del Kathryn Barton
- Director
- Del Kathryn Barton
- Rating
- n/a
- Running Time
- 101 minutes
- Release Date
- n/a
Overall Score
Rating Summary
This will be one of several reviews from this year’s Tribeca film Festival. To follow our coverage, click here.
Coming-of-age stories are a common subgenre as they create emotional connections with audiences who see themselves in the stories being told. In the end, it’s the execution of that connection that determines a film’s success. That being said, it’s nice to see them try to do something different. In the case of Blaze, it is an ambitious coming-of-age story whose tale is ultimately drowned out by that dipping into that ambition too many times which was a shame. As a result, the film becomes a dull and repetitive watch in spite of what it may do right. A divisive one for sure, some will connect with it better than others. Though its surrealist imagery and eclectic soundtrack are likely to resonate with some audiences, the film just doesn’t work as a whole as it gets lost which leads to the film dragging at times. At the end of the day, its only saving grace is a strong lead performance from Julia Savage.
Blaze follows a young girl named Blaze (Savage) who unfortunately was a witness to a violent crime that left her traumatized as she struggled to make sense of what just happened. As a means to cope, she sought refuge in the depths of her imagination. That struggle amidst her fragile relationship with her father Luke (Baker) who was at his wit’s end while trying to take care of his daughter was somewhat compelling to watch but the film spends far too much time with Blaze’s imagination. So much so that it becomes dull and repetitive very fast as it seemingly goes nowhere for long stretches. Therefore the impact of Blaze’s journey over the course of the film wasn’t there as she took matters into her own hands to get some closure as a means to finally move on.
The best part of Blaze, by default, was Savage’s performance as Blaze as she does her best to hold the film together and keeps it watchable. She just needed a more coherent story to make her character arc work. Meanwhile, Baker was just as good as Luke but the film was Savage’s.
While the promise is there, Blaze still does just enough to get by but it could have been so much more.
still courtesy of Tribeca
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The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.
