MARMALADE is an edge-of-the-seat crime-tinged romance tale. Recently incarcerated Baron (Joe Keery) strikes up a friendship with cellmate Otis (Aldis Hodge), a man with a well-versed history of prison breaks. As the pair hatch an escape plan together, Baron recalls the story of how he met Marmalade (Camila Morrone), the love of his life, and their “Bonnie and Clyde” style scheme to rob a bank in order to care for his sick mother and give the couple the life they’ve always dreamed of.
REVIEW:
Marmalade is all about telling stories and making one believe them, and then subverting them. There are two fun plot twists that take this feature out of its Sothern style Bonnie and Clyde antics. But then astute movie viewers would be weary of any film that starts off wih once upon a time.
The plot is the tale told by one incarcerated idiot bank robber- Baron (Joe Keery of Stranger Things) to another convict-Otis (Aldis Hodge) who promises him that he can break him out in time to rendezvous with his accomplish and love of his life, Marmalade (Camila Morrone)in exchange for a significant portion of Baron’s heist stash.. Flashbacks tell their southern style romance and eventual crime spree.
Baron and Marmalade have those thick Southern accents that made me weary of trusting the motives of at least Marmalade. Eventually those suspicions prove true and the movie takes a deep dive into its final two big twists.
The director Keir O’Donnell nimbly toys with Marmalade’s multiple frames. Keery and Morrone both play their roles to the hilt. I bought and successfully caught on to Marmalade’s femme fatale twist, and totally bit the bullet with Kerry’s yokel shtick. Even with the eventual character twist I was pulling for Baron and for his romance with Marmalade to succeed. Morrone does a good job displaying Marmalade’s shifting persona. She fits the story.
I easily gave into everything and just let the twists unfold. Let it slightly awe and surprise me. It became a better, smarter movie. I was glad I didn’t ruin Marmalade by trying to overthink its plot curves.
Marmalade gets a 3.5/5 or a B+. It’s streaming on Hulu.
CREDITS:
Directed by
Written by
Keir O’Donnell
Produced by
- Marc Goldberg
- Jason Shapiro
- James Harris
- Mark Lane
- Sarah Gabriel
Starring
Cinematography
Edited by
Stewart Reeves
Music by
Brooke Blair
Will Blair
Production
companies
- Signature Films
- Tea Shop Productions
Release date
- 9 February 2024
Country
United Kingdom
Language
English
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