Dark Summer Romance

In the stagnant haze of Californian heat, sensitive 17-year-old Lea (Lily McInerny, in her first film role) spends an aimless summer vacation lost in the ugly boredom of her deadbeat town. Jamie Dack’s debut film, “Power Lines and Palm Trees,” lingers on the bong smoke and beer-fueled chatter of boys that buzzes by Lea like radio static, while her calf eyes girlishly glance at the horizon, hoping something new will come her way. She is a flower sprouting in concrete, waiting to be plucked. Just be careful what you wish for.

Lea catches the attention of Tom, a disarmingly handsome 34-year-old man who presents himself as a white knight, rescuing her from loneliness, fulfilling her diary daydream of love with his soft voice and fixed stare, his graceful affection. Tom’s courtship is disturbingly romantic, even sexy, played with quiet magnetism by Jonathan Tucker, who over 20 years ago starred in another cruel story of girlhood, Sofia Coppola's debut, “The Virgin Suicides.” This time he is not a high school peer, but a hunter, stalking his prey with truly evil intent.

Lily McInerny, along with Gretchen Mol, who plays Lea’s emotionally absent mother caught in her own destructive love life, attended the film’s opening at The Moviehouse in Millerton, N.Y., where Mol serves on the board for the nonprofit independent theater. Originally based on a short film by Dack, the feature-length version of “Power Lines and Palm Trees” received critical acclaim at the Sundance Film Festival, and is now playing in select theaters and on-demand through Momentum Pictures. The film also received four nominations at the 2023 Film Independent Spirit Awards last month, including Best Supporting Performance for Jonathan Tucker and a well-earned Best Breakthrough Performance for McInerny, who anchors the film with the honesty of her character’s fragile innocence.

From left, Palm Trees and Power Lines actresses Lily McInerny and Gretchen Mol with Moviehouse co-owner Chelsea Altman. Photo by Alexander Wilburn

From left, Palm Trees and Power Lines actresses Lily McInerny and Gretchen Mol with Moviehouse co-owner Chelsea Altman. Photo by Alexander Wilburn

From left, Palm Trees and Power Lines actresses Lily McInerny and Gretchen Mol with Moviehouse co-owner Chelsea Altman. Photo by Alexander Wilburn

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