Ever since her sister went missing, small-time hustler Jax (Lily Gladstone) takes care of her niece (Isabel DeRoy-Olson) and teaches her tricks… but now she risks losing her.
In her feature debut, documentary filmmaker Erica Tremblay took her experiences as a member of the Seneca-Cayuga Nation and let them inform her portrait of a flawed woman’s desperate decisions, adding culturally relevant issues like the high number of missing and murdered Indigenous women.
A weighty working-class film that is undeniably credible, but takes its time engaging the audience.
2024-U.S. 90 min. Color. Directed by Erica Tremblay. Screenplay: Erica Tremblay, Miciana Alise. Cast: Lily Gladstone (Jax), Isabel DeRoy-Olson (Roki), Shea Whigham (Frank), Audrey Wasilewski, Ryan Begay, Crystyle Lightning.
Trivia: Co-executive produced by Gladstone and Forest Whitaker.