A small Oregon town where the prospects for success are scarce is the setting for Writer-Director Sabrina Doyle's Lorelei. Wayland (Pablo Schreiber) and Dolores (Jena Malone) have both built up several layers of scar tissue in their relatively young lives. Wayland just released from prison after serving a fifteen-year sentence is living at a halfway house in the local church. Delores has three kids one born just after her high school sweetheart went to jail then two more followed suit. She works as a cleaner at the local motel where the guests are not the family vacation type. The pair soon rekindle their affections with Wayland quickly moving into Dolore's home becoming a de facto father to the kids.
Doyle's script lingers on the small special moments mixed amongst the grind of daily life for the working poor in a small out of the way rural town. A simple spontaneous gift of flowers. A family dinner out at the local diner funded on saved coupons or fashioning a birthday gift out of an old tire and some rope. The narrative recounts the hopes and dreams the pair had back in high school that never came to pass. A strong recurring dream displays the need to get to the ocean but when it's within reach the dreamer always walks head-on into a glass barrier then awakes.
Pablo Schreiber is physically imposing yet kind as Wayland. He went to jail on an armed robbery charge. Taking all of the blame on his shoulders when he could have named names to get a better deal. He lands a part-time job at a salvage yard but money is tight so he falls back into bad habits bringing them to the work place. Jena Malone continues her run of solid in performances. Here she's been a mother for half of her young life not getting the chance to build anything for herself. She went a little wild after Wayland went to prison and now finds herself picking through clothes in the motel lost and found to find a birthday gift for her daughter. Trish Egan stands out in a limited role as Pastor Gail. She runs the church halfway house where Wayland lasts after returning home She makes the rules divvies out the chores. A true straight shooter. She also answers the call for Wayland in a time of need doing a major service for the makeshift family.
Lorelei is very much a character study on the erosion of hopes and dreams into mundane adult life. The two leads both end up not where they expected due to personal choices. The scenery is gritty, money evasive and the chances for a change of fortune shrinking by the moment. However, Doyle takes the story off of its likely trajectory to an unexpected direction. A choice that many a viewer will find satisfying in the end.
*** Out of 4
Lorelei | Sabrina Doyle | U.S.A. | 2020 | 111 Minutes.
Oregon, Ex-Con, Biker, Maid, Swimmer, Video Poker, Armed Robbery, Birthday Party, Waterfall,
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