Palm Springs
2020 · Directed by Max Barbakow
Original language: English
- comedy
- romance
- science fiction
The story
When carefree Nyles and reluctant maid of honor Sarah have a chance encounter at a Palm Springs wedding, things get complicated when they find themselves unable to escape the venue, themselves, or each other.
What it’s like
Bright desert sunlight bleaches the resort pools and stucco walls of a Palm Springs wedding, the palette all sand, turquoise water and sun-faded pastel, shot in loose handheld takes that keep the camera near the party and its hangover-soft people. The mood is sun-warmed and wry, a lazy, slightly sardonic comedy that tips into melancholy the longer its characters repeat the same day, and it suits a lazy weekend afternoon, a late-night watch with a drink in hand, or a comfort rewatch. Pacing is brisk and chatty, with overlapping banter, pool-float idleness and sudden bursts of goofy invention, while the emotional arc follows two drifting people who sour on their own cynicism and slowly let someone else in. Intensity is mild: there is drinking and drug use, some crude language and sexual innuendo, a few jolts of slapstick peril and a brief, bloodless bit of action, with no real gore or sustained cruelty. It is for viewers who like romcoms with a sci-fi wrinkle, smart but unfussy, that carry a sweet ache beneath the jokes.
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