While many films highlight the euphoria and blissful, exciting thrills of young, teenage love, there are decidedly fewer that turn the trope on its head and paint it as something darker and unsettling. However, a new project that brandishes this twist on love is lurking right around the corner. Per areportfrom Collider, a new trailer for the coming of age thrillerPalm Trees and Power Lineshas dropped ahead of the film’s theatrical release on March 3rd.
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Palm Trees and Power Linesis directed by Jamie Dack, and based on her 2018 short film of the same name. Dack also co-wrote the script with Audrey Findlay, and co-produced with Leah Chen Baker. The film stars newcomer Lily McInerny as young teenager Lea, alongside Jonathan Tucker (Westworld) as her ominous and much older love interest Tom, Gretchen Mol as Sandra (Manchester By the Sea), Auden Thornton (This Is Us), Armani Jackson (Wolf Pack), Kenny Johnston (The Last Deal), and fellow newcomer Quinn Frankel.
As the trailer above shows, the premise of the film centers on young Lea who has a life-changing encounter that turns into infatuation with a man named Tom, who is nearly twice her age. Tom coerces Lily to spend more and more time with him, and the two begin a behind-closed-doors relationship. Completely wrapped up in her feelings for Tom, Lily gradually cuts off her family and friends, who all begin to question what she’s up to after not seeing her for days at a time. Lacing in his words with affection and gentle charm, Tom makes her promise not to see other guys and eventually asks her to run away with him, to which she shyly agrees. The trailer otherwise doesn’t reveal too much, but still paints a surreal and unsettling picture of what can happen when young love can lead down a dark and uncertain path, and actor Jonathan Tucker conveys his sinister character with all the traits that every parent fears.
Palm Trees and Power Lines comes to theaters and VOD on March 3rd. The official synopsis for the film can be read below.
Seventeen-year-old Lea (Lily McInerny) spends her summer break aimlessly tanning in her backyard with her best friend, tiptoeing around her needy mother, and getting stoned with a group of boys from school. This monotony is interrupted by a chance encounter with Tom (Jonathan Tucker), an older man who promises an alternative to Lea’s unsatisfying adolescent life. But as things progress between them, red flags about Tom’s life begin to surface, and Lea chooses to ignore them. Under Tom’s influence, Lea begins to see her mom as unfit and her friends as a waste of her time. Isolated from those around her, Lea discovers Tom’s true intentions and finds herself in a situation that she never could have imagined.
Jamie Dack Wows Audiences Around the World With Her First Ever Feature Film
Palm Trees and Power Linesis Jamie Dack’s powerful debut into feature film, and so far her work has not disappointed in the slightest. Deciding to turn her short film in a full-length feature has earned Dack numerous accolades already from various critics as she premiered her coming-of-age thriller at several film festivals around the world.
The film premiered at the 2022 Sundance Festival, where Dack won a landslide of awards for Directing, Editing and Screenwriting in the U.S. Dramatic Competition. She also screened it at other landmark events such as the San Francisco International Film Festival, the Deauville Film Festival, the Busan International Film Festival, and several more, cementing her name on the circuit as an up-and-coming director to take note of.
