Electrick Children (2012)

Rachel: "I think God got me pregnant through that blue tape."

By Rebecca Thomas
With Julia Garner, Rory Culkin and Liam Aiken

I met Electrick Children through browsing of the casting of the upcoming Sin City: A Dame to Kill For (2014) with its plethora of stars I wasn't too surprised but I saw this name I had never heard of: Julia Garner. I decided to see what she had played in and that's how I met Electrick Children. The poster looked really good and the story interesting, it is also the very first film of Rebecca Thomas so I'm always excited to meet new names that I might look forward to in the future. All in all, it took me only little time to decide to see Electrick Children.

Rachel lives with her parents and numerous siblings in a ultra-religious community in Utah. The tradition is to have them testify on a tape recorder at the age of 15. Rachel is really intrigued by such a device and once everyone is asleep she goes to the store room and hears her own voice. Then, she sees other tapes and plays a blue one which has a rock'n'roll song on it. The song moves Rachel deeply but she is interrupted by her brother, Mr. Will, and their fight is only broken up by their mother.

Few months down the line, Rachel finds herself pregnant. She is convinced that she has had an immaculate conception and that she was impregnated by the voice on the tape recorder. Her parents, however, are not convinced of the same and decide to kick Mr. Will, who they hold responsible, out. In order to save the debacle they also marry Rachel to a young man from the community. Rachel won't have it and leaves the community with their pick-up truck, not knowing that Mr. Will is sleeping in the back. Both of them arrive in Las Vegas and the shock is big but Rachel has a goal in mind - to find the man who sang that song. When she sees a group of young musicians she follows them, but only Clyde of the group pays attention to her. As both Mr. Will and Rachel discover another way of life, their quest takes them through a bumpy journey.

The start of the movie is slow and unsettling, as we discover a religious community and their ways. The movie becomes strange as it places those awkward out of place characters in an urban setting full of rock'n'roll and skate. The transition is shocking in terms of content but the slow and blurry at times camera is appeasing. It quickly becomes clear that we are witnessing a coming of age movie, although it started in the most bizarre way with a topic such as immaculate conception, we really see these young men and women evolve and learn to know about each others.

Without wanting to spoiler, I can say that the mystery of said conception is quite troubling but even though the spectator keeps wondering about it, we are gently following the journey and the pregnancy becomes more of an accessory to Rachel than a quest in its own right. I have to say I really enjoyed that approach. The difficult task with movies dealing with fundamentalist religious communities is to have them either caricatured and criticized or on the other hand preaching their values. Electrick Children manages to surf along a path away from both extremes. A real pleasant surprise.

The acting is good, mostly when it comes to the three key roles of Rachel, Mr. Will and Clyde. We witness three lost souls, lost for different reason but finding a path that works with one another. The addition of the music really suited me. If I have to point out a shortcoming, it is that it can be hard to understand the motivation or personality of the main characters, and their hectic actions sometimes seem contradictory with what they express. However, that might just be an aspect of the life of any 15 year old.

I liked: Beautifully filmed. Great clash of thoughts and lifestyles. Interesting topics.

I disliked: Not outstanding in its narrative. The adults characters are actually the least realistic.

78/100
One of the most uncanny coming of age movies that I've seen recently, it is touching. As a directorial debut, I am definitely going to be on the lookout for more movies by Rebecca Thomas.