NO ONE QUITE LIKE YOU // A FILM REVIEW OF "SAMANTHA ROSE"
SAMANTHA ROSE (played by first-time non-binary actor Sam Rose) is at a bit of a crossroad. She lives with her mother, who isn't exactly mother of the year. She lets Samantha know that she'll need to move out because her on-again off-again boyfriend (who Sam does not approve of) is moving back in. So she decides to head to her hometown in Northern Oregon and see her father, who's been asking her to come see him for some time. She's unsure of her place in the world and seems a bit adrift. She ends up meeting up with an old friend Taylor (Johnny Dawson) and meets his group of friends - a band of runaways who live and work together at the surrounding vineyards. As her relationship with Taylor grows closer and closer, Samantha starts to find her place among this band of misfit toys and begins to truly take a hold of her own life.
Director Andrew Morgan shot SAMANTHA ROSE over the summer of 2020 during the COVID Pandemic shutdown, working with a limited group and safely completed this indie film with a complete cast of first time actors. The ensemble is a mix of artists and musicians of different types who all joined forces to make a very sweet and charming gem of a film. The majority of the ensemble are so good that you'd never know that this was their first film. Leading the pack of rookie actors is Sam Rose, playing the lead character of their own name. They are beautifully charming and quite emotionally stirring. One character tells them that "no one sees the world like you do" and after watching Rose play the title role, you feel the exact same way. The grace and warmth that they bring to the role is truly unique. Rose shines and is a very special discovery. The majority of the plot revolves around the ensemble of misfits and they all bring a sweet natured charm to the film, each in their own ways (Matthew Danger is a stand-out among them, though they all are quite good).
The only real complaints are their connections to the adult characters. The story of Samantha and her father feels underdeveloped and most of the moments with her mother take place over several phone calls, which kills a lot of the dramatic tension it's searching for. That being said, the only real false moment in the film is the opening scene with Samantha and her mother in the same room, so perhaps phone calls were the way to go. Overall, the film gives a light and breezy feeling, gliding through a wispy plot that's not huge on big revelations but instead focuses on the moments of simple joys that come into Samantha's life during an important pinnacle of her personal journey. It's a beautiful bowl of welcome sweetness that will charm you with its earnestness.
GRADE: B+
WRITTEN BY Andrew Morgan, Emily Morgan DIRECTED BY Andrew Morgan STARRING Sam Rose, Johnny Dawson, Matthew Danger, Allison Berman, Natalia Ruiz-Heinsohn, Vilém McKael, Nicholas Horiatis, Marla Freeman. AVAILABLE ON DIGITAL PLATFORMS SEPTEMBER 7TH. PRE-ORDER LINK