Nicole Riegel’s first feature film, “Dandelion,” seems to take place over a few, brief days, but thanks to the amount of time we spend in the head of its protagonist, Dandelion played by Kiki Layne, it feels as though we have lived an entire lifetime within her mind. Dandelion is dissatisfied with her current situation as she is a universal musician from Cincinnati and has a habit of playing at a bar located in a hotel across the street. Unfortunately, most of the people attending her performances are preoccupied with their phones or with friends and completely ignore the performance altogether. When Dandelion comes home to attend to her sick mother, she is met with derogatory remarks about her age and line of work, followed by arguments at home.
Dandelion decides it is time to make a change when she discovers a biker rally and music festival set in South Dakota. She journeys there to meet a Scottish musician named Casey (Thomas Doherty), who has quite the character significance as a calm introverted figure. Casey’s friends include musicians, though Casey himself currently holds a sales position (much to the disdain of creatives everywhere). Due to that experience, Casey feels as though the best days of his career have come and gone. Dandelion is gradually embraced by the new group which leads to an intense relationship between Casey and her, long planned by nature herself.
With this follows a journey of beautiful walks in the mountains, moving songs duets, and for Dandelion, perhaps the greatest moment in her life when she experiences performing her very own music.
A most of Riegel’s film, its impact occurs outside of conventional speech. Casey and Dandelion have dialogue in the process of making music, both in sol and in duo. The double is not timid; during another episode with a campfire when Dandelion is about to burst out loud in song along with others, she considers it ‘almost’ shouting. Other extremes of emotions are presented when the performers are in love. When the cameras are carefully focused close on the two playing the guitar, singing a standing note, and blinding with their amazed eyes filled with song, intense gazes are unnoticeably fluttering and all seem to be engrossed in the joy of feeling the songs.
It is apparent that both Casey and Dandelion at some stage of development in their careers step over the jealous boundary into each other’s territory. Casey has a desire to be in the present position Dandelion enjoys, against a white canvas of opportunities. But similarly, as her music identity can’t see her complete, her blurry vision does see Dandelion as a musical collaborator and many.
Layne appears to be emotionally delicate and affective as he usually is, while Casey’s charm is readily visible in Dohetry whose exudes intensity and chaos.
In spite of the fact that “Dandelion” has an impressive focus on the minds of its characters which makes figuring the story details out as an afterthought, at times, it forgets about its protagonist. There are occasions when Dandelion seems to take a back seat in her own narrative.
And whether it is Dandelion’s tangents with Casey or the film’s dash towards its finale, one may argue the respect and effort one must take in understanding Dandelion during the first two acts seems irrelevant. But even if one considers the end somewhat weak, the invasion of Riegel’s distinct approach and the obsession in her screenplay create a movie that captures the essence of growth through love, that dreams and great music are written about.
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