A young woman with few options must figure out the rest of her life in Holler, the feature debut of writer/director Nicole Riegel.
Ruth is in a precarious situation. Nearing high school graduation and seemingly stuck in her small town, the next few months will likely determine how her life turns out. She could go to college, having been accepted thanks to her natural curiosity, but there’s no money for utilities let alone education. The other option is to stay and work for the rest of her life, but even that promises only dwindling options as the industrial town closes down around her. As the walls close in Ruth begins to take dangerous chances, even when they don’t answer the questions staring her down.
While this is her feature debut, Riegel could hardly be more prepped to tell this story. An expansion of her short of the same name, it’s also roughly based on her own life growing up in a small town in Southern Ohio, so you know she has a handle on the material.
Also going for the movie is star Jessica Barden, who’s probably grabbed your attention in the series The End of the Fucking World or from her supporting roles in movies like The Lobster, Far from the Madding Crowd, and Hanna. She’s tasked here with not only carrying this film but blending in with a mix of professional and non-professional actors. No small task, just like capturing the dreary milieu of a struggling socioeconomic class is no walk in the park, but strong reviews from its festival run indicates this just might pull it all off.
Holler is directed by Nicole Riegel and stars Jessica Barden, Pamela Adlon, and Gus Halper. It will be released in the US on June 11th, 2021. Further release dates are not currently known.
Will you check this one out? Let us know in the comments!
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