Samantha Rose: A Quietly Intoxicating And Warmly Spirited Character-Driven Drama
Long Gone By writer/director, Andrew Morgan, is back with a new feature, which he conceived, shot, and completed during the 2020 pandemic. Contrasting the darker heaviness of Long Gone By with something much more airy and earnest, Morgan and his team create a quietly intoxicating and warmly spirited character-driven drama about self-discovery.
Sam is lost, working a dead-end job, and afraid to pursue a real life of her own. Returning to her hometown in northern Oregon she reunites with a childhood friend and joins him and a group of misfits as they work the fall harvest on the surrounding vineyards. This ragtag family of runaways are fearless and free, leading Sam on a journey of discovery and healing.
Vili, one of the side characters in Samantha Rose, is a DIY winemaker, the kind that stomps on the grapes with his own two feet, which is exactly what writer/director Andrew Morgan and his cast and crew are doing behind the scenes. Born out of a burning need to create something in the wake of the global pandemic that forced many of us to waste away, Morgan and his team banded together to build their own little world in the Pacific Northwest and make something beautiful, lightly nostalgic, and warmly uplifting. With great care, tenderness, and compassion, Morgan and company stomp on their metaphorical grapes in hopes of making the kind of wine that’s good for the heart. The taste and potency of their quietly intoxicating concoction will vary based off an individual’s palette, but for our money, it is something deliciously life-affirming, joyously sweet, and well worth your time and attention.
In a way, Samantha Rose is an interesting companion piece to Morgan’s previous film, Long Gone By, in the same kind of inverted way that Ari Aster’s Hereditary and Midsommar are; they’re both light and dark variations on similar themes, with cinematography that equally reflects that ying and yang quality. Where Aster examines grief and how it can be destructive or transcended, how family can implode or be found again, Morgan’s two films examine big life moments at different, yet equally pivotal stages in its characters’ lives. In Long Gone By, the teenage Izzy is in that early-life stage where the future holds so much promise, and she’s excited by that, but she’s also scared for what her future holds because, due to unfortunate circumstances, she must go it alone; whereas, Samantha Rose finds its titular character on the other side of that. Sam has blinked and she’s not so young anymore; she’s lost and floundering for meaning, struggling to live a life that’s hers and hers alone. Where Izzy’s bright outlook is momentarily shrouded by doubt and darkness, Sam’s doubt and darkness is dissipated by nature and encouragement.
Sam’s journey to self-discovery is kickstarted by her mother shooing her out of their shared apartment for a boyfriend who’s no good. Sam’s mother is essentially as lost as her — although she won’t admit it — and she has relied on Sam to be the parent, which has stilted Sam’s growth and aided her feelings of lostness. But her sudden relocation is a blessing in disguise. Forced to return to her hometown in Northwest Oregon, she’s reawakened by the place that was formative to her, and she’s reconnected with an old childhood friend, Johnny, who wants nothing more than to see her soar. There’s a lot of subtext to the relationships the characters have, which is much appreciated; things are not so much directly communicated, but shown and felt through the performances, dialogue, and Lance Kuhns’s phenomenal cinematography. You can tell Sam has mixed feelings about returning to a place that might hold a bit of hurt, and watching that slowly melt away is a beautiful sight to behold.
The narrative elements are very subdued and understated, and some of Sam’s journey is dwarfed by the growing romance between her and Johnny, but its easygoing, meandering pace is justified (as are some of the narrative elements) by the fact that Sam isn’t sure of what she wants or how to articulate it right away. Morgan approaches the direction in a much more free, forgiving, catch-what-you-can way in the vein of Terrence Malick, Chloé Zhao, Sean Baker, or Harmony Korine, which gives the film a docu-realist spirit. In fact, he assembles an ace cast of first-time performers, all of whom have parts of their real selves woven into the film’s tapestry, and although energy-levels occasionally undulate, they all deliver solid performances that further the film’s naturalistic feeling. The truly miraculous thing about the film is how much great music it stuffs into its runtime with its modest, shoestring budget, which is thanks to composer Duncan Blickenstaff and Music Supervisor Chris York. The mellow folksy soundtrack marries well with the film’s relaxed atmosphere and focus on nature, and it creates the Cameron Crowe-esque vibe Morgan wanted to capture.
As Vili, the aforementioned DIY winemaker says, “Good things take time and effort.” And with Samantha Rose, Morgan and his team have put in the time and effort to not only make something good, but great. As he told us in an interview (which you can find here or in the links below), making the film saved him, and he hopes it will have the same impact on its viewers. In the wake of the pandemic and all its associated heaviness, something this hopeful, reflective, and empowering is vital nourishment for all souls, young or old.
Recommendation: If you love scenic, easygoing, quietly profound, and warmly empowering character-driven dramas, definitely give Samantha Rose a watch. The film is set to release next month on September 7th, but you can pre-order it right now on iTunes!
Rating: 4 self-discoveries outta 5.
Hungry for more?! Check out the links below:
Print interview with Andrew Morgan about Samantha Rose
Full audio podcast conversation with Andrew Morgan
Long Gone By review
What do you think? We want to know. Share your thoughts and feelings in the comments section below, and as always, remember to viddy well!