Genre: Drama

Directors: Jason Cortlund and Julia Halperin

Cast: Allison Tolman, Sophie Reid, Jobeth Williams, and Luis Bordonada

Studio: Orion Pictures

Runtime: 101 minutes.

Release Date: In limited theaters October 6, 2017

Rated: Not Rated

Rating ★★★★★

An English teacher once taught me that every story ever told can be boiled down to two different plots. “A hero goes on a journey,” and “a stranger comes to town.”  To this day, every book or film I’ve encountered has stayed true to this lesson and Barracuda is no exception.

Merle (Allison Tolman) has a lot on her plate. She’s busy planning her wedding to her fiancé Raul (Luis Bordonada) all while her overbearing mother Patricia (JoBeth Williams) keeps a watchful eye over her. A wrench is thrown into her plans when a young woman named Sinaloa (Sophie Reid) arrives at Merle’s home in the middle of the night. (Can you guess which of the plots this film follows?) Sinaloa claims to be Merle’s half-sister by her father, a drug and alcohol addicted musician who passed away years ago, and despite her better judgment, Merle, at Raul’s behest, invites her to stay.

While this may sound like the start of a stereotypical thriller where bodies start piling up and all sorts of terrible things start happening, this is where Barracuda takes a different turn.

The film instead primarily focuses on the problems Merle has after finding out she has a long-lost sibling while trying her best to connect with Sinaloa. It’s not an easy situation to be in. The sisters initially appear to be polar opposites — Merle is seemingly well-off financially while Sinaloa doesn’t seem to have a penny to her name. However, as the two begin spending time together, they begin to form a rocky relationship.

Although, you can’t shake off the feeling of uncertainty. There’s something off about Sinaloa but at this point in Barracuda, it’s impossible to describe what it is.

To its credit, this is how Barracuda sinks its teeth into you. Highlighting the unknown causes you to second-guess yourself. Does Sinaloa have sinister intentions or does she just want to be part of the family? To be honest, I can’t stop thinking about the movie because of how puzzling it is. It plays like a standard family drama yet there’s deeper subtext to it that becomes apparent as the film progresses.

I must praise Jason Cortlund, who co-directed Barracuda with Julia Halperin, whose script is wonderfully subtle. It focuses on the characters first, letting them and the dialogue drive the intensity. As the film progresses, it begins to peel back the layers to Merle and Sinaloa, making you realize how similar they actually are. It would have been easy to make one of them a clear villain but instead, it’s more complex than that. You see where each one is coming from and neither of them is ever wrong.

Cinematographer Jonathan Nastasi is worth mentioning because Barracuda is surprisingly beautiful to look at. He plays with lighting, drenching characters in different shades of reds and blues depending on the context of the scene. Nastasi’s eye, mixed with Cortlund and Halperin’s direction, makes scenes pop with energy.

Reid pulls off a great performance as Sinaloa. You get the sense that Sinaloa harbors a lot of anger towards her father and Reid sells this in a very understated manner. Tolman is also pitch-perfect, playing Merle as someone who has tricked themself into a false sense of happiness. The chemistry between these two is palpable.

I feel like I should mention Williams’ portrayal of Patricia, which is deliciously unlikable. Her role, which is minor but important, could have been very cliché. Instead, Patricia is a passive aggressive mother who is overly controlling of her daughter but Williams manages to make the archetype feel fresh.

Barracuda falters a bit in its last act. It becomes more thriller than the heartfelt drama it starts out as. This doesn’t necessarily ruin the film but it feels out of place and lackluster. I was hoping for something with a bit more bite to it. This, combined with the sort of abruptness to it, left me feeling empty.

By the end, however, I was surprisingly impressed with Barracuda. It’s a smart and weirdly heartfelt piece of drama that’s worth seeing.

For more on this film visit:
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5663298/

All Photos: ©2017 Orion Pictures. All Rights Reserved.