Joe Keery and Camila Morrone Are Spellbinding in Keir O’Donnell’s Marmalade
Marmalade follows the recently incarcerated Baron (Joe Keery), a sweet southern boy who will do anything to help his mama. Baron strikes up a friendship with his new cunning cellmate, Otis, (Aldis Hodge) who just so happens to have a history of successful prison breaks. Just before hatching their plan to escape the confined walls of their prison cell, Baron begins to narrate the turbulent, yet colorful, story of how he met the alluring love of his life Marmalade (Camilla Morrone) and their Bonnie and Clyde-esque scheme to perform a bank heist in the hopes of a better life.
Everything isn’t what it seems in Marmalade. The romance thriller takes you on an emotional rollercoaster through a truly wild story with love at the root of all decisions. For a directoral debut, Keir O'Donnell's creativity and thought provoking story telling radiated through out the film, from the cinematography to the unexpected turn of events, in the best way imaginable. The plot itself was almost nostalgic, honing in on themes that felt reminiscent of early 2000s crime thrillers. That being said, I love crime stories and pride myself in catching the hook before the fish in a film, but this one threw me for a loop. There were shocking twists I never expected that had my jaw on the floor.
The performances by the film’s protagonists Camila Morrone and Joe Keery were spellbinding. I was transfixed by Morrone’s performance as the infamous Marmalade herself. Morrone won me over as she displayed a crazed side I hadn’t seen from the actress before. It was absolutely mesmerizing. Her character is intricate, but Morrone ensures the audience knows it. Like everyone, I love Keery’s outstanding performance as the enigmatic Steve Harrington from Stranger Things, so I truly didn’t think he could further captivate me, but his performance as a shy, endearing southern boy got me again. Keery plays the character so well I wanted to reach into my screen and give Baron a big ol’ hug. Keery’s take on Baron was enthralling. I laughed, teared up, and even found myself a bit intimidated by the character towards the end. On top of that, Keery and Morrone’s chemistry was unmatched. They seemingly fit together like puzzle pieces in every conjoint scene.
I also couldn’t help but notice the breathtaking cinematography work within this film. Certain shots highlighted the outward beauty of Morrone’s character Marmalade, which was then contrasted by Morrone’s zesty performance. This helped in showcasing the dejected inners of her character. While the premise of the film is mainly regarding a bank heist, the shots provided me with the contrasting feeling of the warmth on a summer day. The direction O’Donnell gave was beautiful and clearly well thought out to produce conflicting feelings from the audience as well as tell a story with layers and metaphors carefully planted throughout the film.
Much like the sticky, sweet substance, Marmalade offers audiences a tasty story and once you take your first bite, you’ll be addicted.
Marmalade will be in Theaters and On Demand on February 9.
