MAINE: Lost Souls & Lost Intentions
There are many reasons that compel people to take the long hike up the Appalachian Trail, but above all, it offers an opportunity to find yourself without the world around to define you. In his sophomore film, Matthew Brown continues exploring the concept of soul searching and realizations in Maine.
The movie drops in on Bluebird (Laia Costa) and Lake (Thomas Mann) somewhere in New Hampshire, close to the trail’s end in Maine. Bluebird is from Spain, searching for clarity without the company of her husband, Paul. Lake is a twenty-something and lost in more ways than one, blindly searching for a connection. How long they’ve known each other is unclear but their attraction towards one another is strong.
They come upon a cabin full of fellow hikers and play hacky sack and eat. It’s obvious to others that there’s more than chemistry between Bluebird and Lake and their relationship is pried open. Bluebird quickly clears up that they are not a couple, however, the tension has already settled in and continues to travel with them. Wanting to be together but unable to shake the looming reality of their relationship ultimately leads Bluebird to decide she has to continue on alone.
Destined To Go Solo
Maine is a movie of few words, mastering the art of showing not telling through serene scenic shots and close-ups on Bluebird and Lake. It works and it’s beautiful… Until the characters speak. The dialogue fluctuates between feeling improvised to over scripted, trying to give context that isn’t needed. In the cabin where they meet other travelers, a woman approaches the table and instantly points at Bluebird and says “you have an accent.” A line blatantly placed so that Bluebird could give her backstory of where she’s from and how she came to America and then the trail.
Later on, halfway through the movie Bluebird reads a journal entry to Lake in Spanish. When she briefly translates the entry she tells him that she’s realized that she “doesn’t need anybody and that’s okay.” A set up to cause more tension between her and Lake but also basically says what the whole movie is about. Perhaps if it happened, later on, it would have worked but by placing it so early in the movie takes away from watching Bluebird’s struggle.
Costa is consistently vulnerable to the camera and her emotions direct the tone of the movie. While her chemistry with Mann is effortless and together they create something compelling, at times it feels as if Mann gets in her way. Not to say that Mann’s performance is lackluster, but that Lake as a character doesn’t seem to be anything more than a pawn for Bluebird to interact with to figure out what she wants.
It’s obvious that Bluebird is the true protagonist of this story and Maine could have benefited by making it less of a love story and more of a Bluebird story. The last minutes of the movie follow Bluebird after she has left Lake and in these moments Costa thrives. She commands our attention by showing herself naked and alone. Through the silence, her eyes let us know how she’s feeling and lets us wonder what she might be thinking. We learn more about Bluebird in these final fifteen minutes than we did during her whole time with Lake, besides what she told us outright.
Maine: Conclusion
Hikers walk the Appalachian Trail and stumble upon one another and it’s up to them what they share with others. Maine makes the right choice beginning the movie with no clear indicators of how long Bluebird and Lake have been hiking or known each other. We really don’t need to know anything about them before that moment and the movie wastes its time trying to explain those details.
What’s striking right away is the dissatisfaction on Bluebirds face as she goes through her morning routine in the woods and immediately you want to know why. There’s value in exploring how Bluebird finds comfort in others instead of isolating herself to figure out whatever it may be. But unfortunately, it gets lost in exploring the tension between Bluebird and Lake.
Maine will leave you unfulfilled and possibly apathetic. It has the right foundation to create a raw and emotional story that leaves you with something to ponder. Hopefully, it will find itself on another trail.
What do you think? Let us know in the comments!
Maine will be in US theaters and available On Demand December 14, 2018.
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