She’s in Portland (Marc Carlini, 2020): USA

Reviewed by Scott Kipp. Viewed at SBIFF 2020.

She’s in Portland is an excellent movie about thirty-somethings going through an early mid-life crisis. What really stood out to me was the dialog in the movie. The conversations were very realistic and dealt with topics, like relationships and expectations, that I could relate to.  The acting was very touching and the cinematography and scenery was stunning.  This movie is an excellent example of a meaningful road trip and how the characters are stumbling along through life and trying to find the best path.

When the director Marc Carlini told a SB filmmakers panel at SBIFF 2020 about his movie that had scenes in Isla Vista (IV), I knew I had to see this film. I’ve written a novel called Beyond Na Pali that starts and ends in IV and I wanted to see how Marc saw this classic party town next to UCSB. He portrayed IV as raucous and free-wheeling and that is basically what I wrote about as well.

In a Q&A after the premier, Marc, the lead actor Tommy Dewey and co-producer Oren Skoog told the story about filming the party in IV. They told us how they filmed the scene at an actual party in IV. They worked with some locals in IV to capture the wild party. They nailed the exuberance of the crowded college party and kept the scene realistic and beautiful.

I also write about beautiful settings in my novels and the movie did a great job of incorporating gorgeous ocean scenes with the dramatic nature of the movie. From vantages on top of cliffs to driving down the Pacific Coast Highway, the setting played an important role in the film like Marc said he wanted to. He told SBIFF 2020 how he scouted out the dramatic locations on California’s coast and then made scenes, like the one shown below, pop.

I really enjoyed how the characters got into deep conversations on their journey.  They randomly met different people and had great conversations like I have in my lifetime. The dialog reminded me of the Before Trilogy where Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy have very realistic and long conversations about the important things in life. The conversation was crisp while being natural.

Brilliant acting, beautiful scenery and an excellent story all add up to a dramatic and memorable movie.