What is it about the American teen road film that draws in so many? Whether it’s a classic like Almost Famous or a low-budget indie such as Lynne Ramsay’s Morvern Callar, the genre’s structure lends itself to moments of self-discovery, as characters jump from one unexpected event to another. Although the young protagonists of these films spend countless hours idly staring off into the distance of unfamiliar landscapes, singing to their favorite songs, engaging in casual chats and looking for the next food stop or place to sleep, they also often come across other unique characters who teach them valuable lessons or allow for significant connections that result in change and possible growth. In some parts of American culture, this trip is often seen as a rite of passage, the first time one embarks on an extended journey with a group of friends without parental supervision. As a brief escape from reality and the constant anxieties of life, it is a last grasp at adolescence while hurtling toward adulthood and added responsibility.
The director duo consisting of brothers Bill Ross IV and Turner Ross waste no time introducing the main cast of five friends in their new film, Gasoline Rainbow. There’s Tony (Tony Aburto), Micah (Micah Bunch), Nichole (Nichole Dukes), Nathaly (Nathaly Garcia) and Makai (Makai Garza). The group have just graduated high school together and decide to take a 500-mile journey from their small hometown of Wiley, Oregon to the coastline. While each teenager initially seems interchangeable, we slowly grow to understand them as individuals, as they reveal themselves in personal monologues and discussions with strangers. One of the teens talks about how her dad was deported from the United States five years earlier, while another shares their experience taking care of their siblings while their parents dealt with addiction. Each cast member is playing a version of themselves, and many of the scenes are unscripted, so their dialogue feels more authentic than the type of eloquent conversations you would hear in other coming-of-age dramas.
The particular way in which the Rosses made Gasoline Rainbow brings some new features to the road trip genre. According to interviews with the pair, they hired casting directors to select the five first-time actors for their “open-heartedness,” spontaneity and thirst for adventure. They then arranged pre-planned situations for the group each day, also allowing the group to find real moments on their own. The film takes the cast on a tour of underrepresented parts of America, including an outdoor punk show in Portland that somehow turns into a dance floor. This results in curious and observant filmmaking where the Rosses are not delivering any comprehensive statements about the younger generation but are instead providing the audience with the space to witness the five friends’ idealism, kindness and optimism for the future despite their difficult upbringings.
But this production approach, which is similar to how the Rosses’ previous projects have worked, also has its drawbacks. As the group meet new friends at house parties, a local bar and a skate park, among other places, their interactions begin to seem contrived. Despite the more realistic dialogue, the cast members feel like they are too willing to share personal stories about themselves, often opening up about their hardships to complete strangers (though this could be due to editing, where the initial exchanges are cut out to get to the more meaningful conversations). While the ease with which the protagonists connect with others may suggest how community can be found anywhere, the people they encounter seem too friendly and too willing to talk to a group of self-proclaimed outcast 18-year-olds. Maybe those who make this interpretation are too used to the hate-filled images and videos that pop up on social media feeds, but the relationships formed here can ring false. Later, the teens miraculously reunite with some of the people they met along their journey, solidifying the thought that everything happening is too convenient.
Gasoline Rainbow is a film that is more interesting when thinking about its production process than what appears on screen. The events that take place come across as more of an idyllic dream than an actual experience, blunting the emotional power of each scene. This take on the teen road trip film is certainly distinctive in both its conception and execution, but in comparison to others in the genre, the growth the central characters’ achieve comes too easily. Yes, most of these other road films are more fixed in their structure and screenplay and contain more fictional elements, but they feel truer to the joys and struggles of growing up.
Photo courtesy of MUBI
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