by John Tillyard, Contributing Writer
After her sister’s disappearance, Jax (Lily Gladstone) must face looking after her niece, Roki (Isabel Deroy-Olson). Jax balances her time between finding her sister and caring for Roki as she prepares for a powwow they hope her mother will attend. As things develop, Jax also faces the possibility of losing custody of Roki to the child’s grandfather, Frank (Shea Whigham), and she takes desperate measures to keep Roki in her life.
Fresh from her almost universally acclaimed performance in Killers of the Flower Moon, Gladstone now takes on the role of a, Indigenous person in the modern day in Fancy Dance. We see early on that Jax’s life is complicated even before her sister goes missing. She lives in poverty and has resorted to a life of crime to get by. Still, this life has toughened her as a woman, and she has become accustomed to the fact that nothing will come easy to her. These problems are well established in the opening sequence, as she and Roki work together to steal and hustle several innocent civilians, and Roki shoplifts without even giving it much thought.
Roki is another interesting character; she’s not a bad kid; she’s just been raised in the wrong way, and she is now convinced that stealing and cheating others out of money is something you must do. Up-and-coming actress, Deroy-Olson, portrays an innocent but not naïve feeling, as she trustingly follows her aunt’s instructions. However, she comes across as more ignorant of the situation with her mother’s disappearance, as she continues to assume she will come back and doesn’t appear to think anything of others referring to her in the past tense. She is far more focused on the upcoming powwow as she prepares her costume and practices her dance moves. Meanwhile, Jax shows increased frustration, but a noticeable lack of surprise at how little effort the authorities make to find her sister, despite her brother, JJ (Ryan Begay), being a cop who is part of the local enforcement.
The film has a compelling mix of aspects of life that the narrative focuses on. There are several themes, which include the treatment of Indigenous People by modern day society, the difficulties of raising a child as a parental figure who isn’t their parent, raising a child from another culture, dealing with loss and gradually facing up to the horrible truth of it, Native American culture in general, and purity. This mix of ideas gives the accounts and events a slightly more original feel. Many stories have had these kinds of themes, but few would have this particular combination of ideas.
One scene that struck a chord with me is when Frank and his second wife, Nancy (Audrey Wasilewski), take custody of Roki. Nancy tells Roki she wants to sign her up for ballet to make up for being unable to do the powwow. Roki explains that the powwow isn’t just a hobby or something for her to do; it is a way of life and something Roki and her mother have always done. It’s clear from the way Nancy talks in the scene that she does not understand Roki’s culture — she wants her to do ballet because it’s something she did at the same age. Nancy isn’t portrayed as a bad person here; she does not fully understand the situation and quickly realizes this mistake. The scene sends a good message about not trying to force kids into doing something they don’t want to do, as well as the importance of understanding other cultures before leading them to think it’s something you can relate to.
These mixes of different themes and cultures also create a very original atmosphere that keeps things from feeling stale or repetitive. Some specific sequences, moments, or scenes don’t relate to anything else seen during the story, but they help switch up the tone. The comedy here is relatively sparse and primarily isolated to single moments or lines to loosen the tension of specific moments; however, I remember laughing out loud several times. Even with the harrowing premise of the story, Jax and Roki’s relationship has a nice upbeat tone. They feel like a loving mother and daughter who care deeply about one another. The chemistry between the two lead actors fascinates in every scene where it’s just the two of them. I found myself wanting them to succeed in what they are doing, even when it is blatantly illegal. You wouldn’t think it would be easy for any form of story to have you rooting for a person who is not only committing several serious crimes, but also teaching a child to do the same thing, but somehow, this story manages it.
With that said, there is an unexpected falling out between a pair of characters towards the end which feels forced. One starts pointing out certain bad things the other has done, which they were okay with before, but won’t accept now for some reason. It didn’t seem like anything had happened to make either character change how they felt about the situation. It only happened because the narrative needed one of the characters to leave.
The biggest shortcoming here is the remarkably bland visuals. Most sets and sequences seen could be removed from any road trip or crime drama. The opening scene by a river is probably the only visually exciting setting. The main cast is an Indigenous family. Still, outside of the final scene, there isn’t much shown about their lives that differs from any other American family. Fancy Dance could also have taken place almost anywhere in America; it’s about as contemporary a story as they come. Possibly, a lot of the sequences are meant to be relatable to Indigenous people, parents raising their kids, and women in general, so as a white male who doesn’t have kids, it was hard for me to feel a connection.
Often, in stories like this, I enjoy scenes that give a window into what it’s like to be part of another group, but for whatever reason, the connection to the characters is hardly there in Fancy Dance. The only times it’s present is while they commit crimes — those moments gave me significant anxiety that they would be caught, and I connected to the mother-daughter vibes. Outside of that, I felt alienated from specific emotional beats.
The ending of this film is a little surprising. Not because of what happens, but because of precisely when it ends. It’s an attempt to give a distressing story something close to a “happy ending,” without seeming unrealistic because it is a moment of happiness before things presumably get worse.
Fancy Dance offers an exciting variety of themes and is a window into Indigenous culture. Gladstone and Deroy-Olson’s performances work perfectly with each other, and provide a genuinely lovable relationship that makes you want to see them succeed. The harrowing elements are decently spaced out by a slower pace, a few comedy elements, and a more upbeat ending. There is a lack of real insight into the specific difficulties of these characters’ lives. Still, it is at least interesting to get a small window into the everyday problems these characters face. By the end, you can’t help but feel sorry for Jax, despite all the law-breaking she’s done and the mistakes she has made, and when a story can make me think that, it has to be commended.
Rating: Liked It
Fancy Dance is currently streaming on Apple TV+
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