''Caroline and Jackie'' is a
2013
File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...
arthouse
An art film (or arthouse film) is typically an independent film, aimed at a niche market rather than a mass market audience. It is "intended to be a serious, artistic work, often experimental and not designed for mass appeal", "made primarily ...
drama film
In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...
written and directed by
Adam Christian Clark
Adam Christian Clark is an American film director, screenwriter, and editor, who is best known for combining naturalistic techniques in performance and dialog with stylized cinematic devices in editing and camerawork.
Early life
Adam Christia ...
.
Set in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
over the course of one night, the script focuses on the emotionally complex relationship between two sisters and their close group of friends.
Plot
The film's opening credits have a lingering sense of unease to them, which is capitalized on as soon as Caroline and Jackie arrive at the “surprise birthday party” Caroline has planned for Jackie (despite her birthday not being for two months and it actually being Caroline's birthday) – where the dynamic between the pair (and Ryan, to some degree) is pushed out to the larger group, ratcheted up by rapid cuts and lingering looks between Jackie's friends. But it's not just a surprise dinner party that Caroline has put together – when the group ends up back at Jackie's place, the real “party” is revealed. It's an intervention for Jackie, headed up by Caroline, who hopes that she and Jackie's friends can help her with a variety of issues – anorexia, pill abuse, alcoholism, and even sexual promiscuity.
When Jackie inevitably flees the house, much of the tension of the film is deflated, but it does allow deeper character reveals, with Caroline making a move on another intervention attendee (or two), Jackie taking off for a bar, and every one of Jackie's supposedly worried friends acting less than caring. Clark uses some noticeable and basic plot tricks – pulling people apart and putting them back together, mixing up interactions between different characters, changing locations – but they all serve his aim, which is to slowly unfold the story in a believable way.
The film sets the sisters up as opposing forces, and a question quickly arises – who is more believable? Is Jackie in denial or is Caroline lying? Is Jackie sick or is Caroline even sicker? Is Jackie coping with alcohol because she's a drunk or because she needs a stiff one after a terrible night?
Cast
*
Marguerite Moreau
Marguerite Moreau (born April 25, 1977) is an American actress. She is known for her role as Jesse Reeves in the fantasy horror film ''Queen of the Damned'', Katie in the comedy '' Wet Hot American Summer'', and her role as Connie in '' The Mi ...
as Caroline
*
Bitsie Tulloch
Elizabeth Tulloch (born January 19, 1981) known as Bitsie Tulloch, is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Juliette Silverton / Eve in the NBC television series '' Grimm'' and as Lois Lane in The CW superhero television series '' ...
as Jackie
*
David Giuntoli
David Giuntoli (born June 18, 1980) is an American actor. He portrayed Det. Nick Burkhardt in the NBC supernatural drama '' Grimm'', and has appeared in films such as '' 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi'' (2016) and '' Buddymoon'' (2016 ...
as Ryan
*
Valerie Azlynn
Valerie Azlynn (born November 25, 1980) is an American actress. She has appeared in several television shows and movies, notably starring in the TV comedy '' Sullivan & Son''.
Early life
Azlynn was born Valerie Asselin and raised in New London ...
as Michelle
*
Jason Gray-Stanford
Jason Gray-Stanford (born May 19, 1970) is a Canadian film, television and voice actor. He is best known for playing Lieutenant Randy Disher in the Emmy, SAG and Golden Globe-winning TV program ''Monk'' and for voicing the role of Raditz in ''Dra ...
as James
* David Fuit as Charlie
Reception
''Caroline and Jackie'' was met with positive reviews at both its
Tribeca Film Festival
The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by Tribeca Productions. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive programming. Tribeca was f ...
premiere and during its theatrical release.
Anita Gates of ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' said, "True indie mentality and style are reassuringly alive in 2013 in “Caroline and Jackie,” nicely written and directed...It captures the awkwardness, loneliness and unacknowledged desperation that haunt us all but that are particularly poignant when seen among attractive 30-somethings."
John Anderson of ''
Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' said, "Displaying nerves of steel and a generous heart, helmer Adam Christian Clark takes a lot of chances with "Caroline and Jackie," a tale of troubled sisters that keeps the viewer off balance throughout before delivering a payoff that serves as both catharsis and absolution. While it does make demands of its audience, the cumulative emotional impact is startling."
Steve Dollar of ''
The Wall Street Journal
''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
'' called it "a delicious dinner party meltdown, visually polished and emotionally raw". He praised Moreau and Tulloch for "playing their yin/yang roles with gleaming intensity".
Miranda Siegel of ''
New York Magazine
''New York'' is an American biweekly magazine concerned with life, culture, politics, and style generally, and with a particular emphasis on New York City. Founded by Milton Glaser and Clay Felker in 1968 as a competitor to ''The New Yorker' ...
'' named it a must see film, praising its "top-notch performances" and its "unique combination of naturalistic acting and stylized technique".
Jaime N. Christley of ''
Slant Magazine'' was not as impressed. He writes, "Writer-director Adam Christian Clark's Caroline and Jackie clobbers the viewer with a wall of insistent stylishness, a Ketel One ad that just won't quit, or Bellflower for people whose Blackberry is a vital organ."
On the review aggregation website
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
the film has an 80% rating based on reviews from 10 critics.
On
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...
it has a score of 60% based on reviews from 6 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".
Music
In addition to an original score by
Lisbeth Scott
Lisbeth Scott (born 1 January 1978) is an American composer, vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, producer and songwriter of Armenian origin, born in Boston, Massachusetts. She is featured on the soundtracks for the films ''Avatar'', ''Avatar: The W ...
, the film features the
Ruth Brown recording of
Nellie Lutcher
Nellie Rose Lutcher (October 15, 1912 – June 8, 2007) was an American R&B and jazz singer and pianist, who gained prominence in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Lutcher was most recognizable for her diction and exaggerated pronunciation a ...
's "Hurry On Down".
IMDB Soundtrack Listing
/ref>
References
External links
* {{IMDb title, 1711016, Caroline and Jackie
Bullett Magazine Interview
Wall Street Journal Review
DVD Talk Review
2012 films
American drama films
2010s English-language films
Films set in Los Angeles
2012 directorial debut films
2012 drama films
2010s American films