Kelly & Cal was the first film I’ve ever caught at SXSW. It just so happens to be the feature film debut of director Jen McGowan. Based on Amy Lowe Starbin’s script, Kelly & Cal shows the formation of an unusual friendship between two people who are unsatisfied with their lives. Through each other they bond over mutual understanding and rediscover their former selves.
Kelly (Juliette Lewis) is a new mom, and she’s having trouble making the adjustment. Just 6 weeks from giving birth to her son Jackson, she is suffering from postpartum depression. She’s struggling with taking care of her son, and it doesn’t help that her husband Josh (Josh Hopkins) has been acting differently. They don’t connect like they used to; for him, sex isn’t even a thought. Frustrated, Kelly strikes a connection with her teenage neighbor Cal after he catches her sneaking a cigarette one evening in her backyard.
Cal (Jonny Weston) was recently involved in a freak accident that left him confined to a wheelchair. Left by his girlfriend, and abandoned by his friends, Cal is lonely and at lost at what to do. Soon he and Kelly begin spending more and more time together. What begins as an innocent friendship, turns into something much more.
During her younger days, Kelly used to be a cool rocking bassist in a punk-band called Wetnap. Meeting Cal brings back the youthful spirit within Kelly that has laid dormant for way too long. Something almost all forgotten with the start of motherhood or the move to dreary suburbia. Cal becomes her escape, and Kelly Cal’s.
Lewis delivers a performance full of layered emotion that slowly becomes unraveled. She shines in the role, but a good deal of credit must go towards her young co-star, Weston. He is electric in his role, portraying his characters needed emotion with a great range that was moving. You become sympathetic to the needs of both characters. When their heartbreaks, so does yours.
This is a strong debut for McGowan, who offers a steady direction that lets her actors shine. It’s also the debut script from Starbin, which does show. The film’s tone feels somewhat uneven and scenes often feel choppy, but that could be due to editing more than anything else.
Kelly & Cal is an emotional experience that showcases two fine performances from Lewis and Weston. There’s also fine supporting work from Hopkins, as well as Cybill Shepherd and Lucy Owen who play Kelly’s mother and sister-in-law respectively. As far as debuts come, you can’t ask for a more solid one from McGowan, who I think will only get better as they come along.
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