O’Dessa
A movie like “O’Dessa” very much wants to be a cult film, something audiences return to, and maybe even watch at midnight a la “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.” But that type of phenomenon can only happen organically, it cannot be forced upon a film, regardless of what the filmmaker has in mind. The audience dictates cult status in how they react to a film, not the filmmaker- in this case, writer-director Geremy Jasper. What you think about the world- and especially, the music- he’s created is going to dictate your mileage with the film. Mine went further than you might expect, but I’m still likely one-and-done in terms of watching this film.
Jasper’s film is lifted straight out of the tradition of 1980s post-apocalyptic dystopias and synth-heavy musical from the same decade. Nominally, the story of O’Dessa Galloway (Sadie Sink), a farm girl with a talent for music, is a fairly standard hero’s journey as she makes her way to the neon-drenched city of , where she meets Euri Dervish (Kelvin Harrison Jr.), and falls in love, but must get the chance to perform in order to save him from the fate of many others in the city at the hands of an all-powerful personality, Plutonovich (Murray Bartlett). Will love, and music, conquer all? You can probably figure that out.
Pointing out Jasper’s clear influences is not intended to criticize “O’Dessa,” but to let you know what to prepare for. (I also think Walter Hill’s “Streets of Fire” was probably a big inspiration on him, as well.) The film very much goes out of its way to create a new, imaginative world for its characters, while also keeping it slightly removed from the real world. That’s not far removed from what the post-apocalyptic cinema filmmakers of the ’80s did, in part due to the budgetary restraints they were dealing with. Here, Jasper clearly is dealing with similar restraints, but enough latitude to do something more expansive. There’s also a feeling of this having a kinship to the Technicolor musicals of the ’50s and ’60s, as well, and that works to this film’s advantage as it follows a familiar musical blueprint.
I actually enjoy quite a bit about “O’Dessa.” First and foremost in Sink as the title character. There’s something about her that doesn’t really fit in a typical box for an actress her age; she’s kind of a character actor, but she also has a personality and charisma that fits nicely into lead roles. As O’Dessa, she believes she is intended to follow in the footsteps of her late father, who was also a musician, and saw her as a fabled Seventh Son, whose music will change the world. (Don’t ask me how the Seventh Son thing works for a decidedly female character; the film doesn’t dwell too much on it.) She doesn’t have a lot of chemistry with Harrison Jr., sadly, but the supporting performances by Bartlett and Regina Hall as Neon Dion make up for it. And I really enjoy the song soundtrack in this film. Sink is a natural singer, and I like the sound of this music, especially in contrast to the otherworldly production design. This film worked for me, even if- as I mentioned early- I may not revisit it. It’s interesting, even if it’s a very niche film.
