Good story, Not enough for a whole film

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

Stumbled across this lovely film on Netflix last night, and after reading the summary was curious as to how it would turn out, and it was a lot better than I thought !We follow the 15 year old Rachel who believes that she has had an immaculate conception and got pregnant by listening to a tape that she found (we are left to assume how she actually got pregnant) Julia Garner plays a brilliant part and she played the character so well you can almost believe she got pregnant through listening to the songWe see Rachel and her brother Mr Will go from their rural Mormon village to the gritty streets of Las Vegas were they meet some rockers who take them in as fellow travellers and what we see is a beautiful coming of age story as Rachel and Mr Will adapt and experience new things. Another brilliant performance by Rory Culkin as the stoner/skateboarder who falls in love with Rachel and helps her along her way.Overall 7/10 an enjoyable watch, with incredible cinematography and of course, an excellent soundtrack !

Great premise, poor execution.I was surprised and disappointed to learn that Rebecca Thomas had both written and directed this movie. Not because I am adverse to Thomas I hasten to add. But because what is a very good idea, and what I had hoped would be a little gem, is executed very poorly. I would have liked to have seen Thomas' script directed by someone with more experience.The biggest problem with this film is that the viewer has to answer a pretty important question mark, without much evidence. As it happens, it seems pretty obvious what this answer is but it would have been nice to have seen more evidence.I also felt that so much effort had been put into the lead role, admirably depicted by Julia Garner, that much of the supporting cast were overlooked and as a result, under developed. For a film that is 95 minutes long, you really don't get a lot of information on which to answer the question mentioned above. A prime example is the brother, Mr. Will. He goes from devout Mormon, to pill popper, door slamming bad ass and then back again in a matter of days, and you have no idea of his past, or any insight into what he is thinking.7/10 because the story is good, it looks beautiful and Garner makes the film worth checking out. 3/10 because Thomas' promising script has been let down by inexperienced directing.

I was pretty sure I was going to watch only five minutes of this film when I turned it on Netflix late one night before going to sleep. However the film hooked me and I stayed up to watch half of it and caught the second half the next night. Two things caught me, the jumpy Terence Malick-like editing and visual style and the subtle, natural acting of lead Julia Garner.The movie is very relaxed about telling its narrative, preferring to give us community atmosphere and causally letting the narrative fall out. The contrasting atmospheres of a strict Mormon/Amish-like rural religious community and an urban teenage punk-rock community is both strange and funny. Rebecca Thomas shows a lot of artistry and promise as a first time writer-director.I looked up Julia Garner on Google because I had not seen her before and she really gives a breathtaking performance in the lead. She plays a girl raised in such a strict religious background that the Virgin Mary in the Jesus Mythology seems to be her only role model. I was not surprised to find that Bette Davis is her favorite actress. The performance seems modeled on some of Bette Davis' performances, especially, "the Petrified Forrest." (1936).It was also great to see Liam Aiken whom I hadn't seen since "Lemony Snicket" (2004). Apparently, he has only done a few television shows since then. He also gives a wonderfully subtle performance as Julia's brother, "Mr. Will". His character is essentially a child forced to act serious and never smile.It reminds one how cruel a religious upbringing can be.

'Electrick Children' follows the story of a pregnant, 15 year old Rachel living in a Mormon society in present day. She claims that the father of her unborn child is the voice of a singer on a rock cassette she listened to, insisting that 'God got her pregnant through the tape'. When being forced to confess to her parents that she has sinned, frustrated that they won't believe her miracle and are persistent in arranging a marriage for her the next day, Rachel steals her father's truck and journey's into Las Vegas in order to find the singer on the tape. This 'coming of age' story is the first feature film of director Rebecca Thomas and stars actress Julia Garner, who is very convincing in her performance of the naïve, 'fish-out-the water' teenager alongside our skater/stoner character that happens to take a shine to her when they meet in Las Vegas. Clyde, played by Rory Culkin, does a great job in capturing the emotions of his character and is beginning to step out of his brothers' shadows in becoming a star in his own right. The film is enticing up until the last half hour when a charge of events and little time for the audience to comprehend them leads the ending to seem quite messy. Regardless, this film is successful in capturing teenage emotion and I have nothing but praise for Julia Garner and Rory Culkin who performed their roles wonderfully.