NEVER GOIN’ BACK – Review

Review by Stephen Tronicek

Most reviewers probably wouldn’t get close to calling the two protagonists of Augustine Frizzell’s directorial debut, Never Goin’ Back, righteous, but I most certainly would. They live in a tough situation, one that would make many of the more affluent viewers, such as myself, uncomfortable. They aren’t sanded around the edges, they aren’t “socially acceptable,” but what they are is real people living their best lives. That’s something I think we all want. It is in that way that Never Goin’ Back, through all its twists and turns becomes something of a transcendent work. You may never be these women, you may never want to be these women, but to experience the joy they do, the hardship they do, to experience their lives is a perfect reminder of what a true life looks like.

That may sound long-winded, especially in a review for a movie where the characters stumble around getting high, deflecting the emasculated yet somehow powerful men in their lives, and trying to get enough money to escape to a weekend trip to Galveston, but to be honest, Never Goin’ Back doesn’t ever feel vapid, even if the characters continually reach for an excess that can only lead to emptiness. They still have each other, they still have another person to help and that’s enough. This means that the entire work lives and dies on the framing of the main relationship between Angela (Maia Mitchell) and Jessie (Camila Morrone), girlfriends who seem to actually have their lives figured out on a deeper existential level. The actions that they take might not always be smart but they have who they want to be figured out and know how to respect and defend each other.

This type of relationship is seldom captured on screen with this kind of authenticity and Frizzell nails it in both writing and direction. The film is the type of one might expect to be downright oversaturated in handheld camera and relentless cross-cutting and coverage, and Never Goin’ Back has plenty of that, but it also has immaculate frames, motivated montage, and immensely entertaining set pieces. The technical work on the film is startling and the choices of shots excellently reinforce the already jaw-dropping performances.

On that note, Mitchell and Morrone may very well be some of the most naturalistic actresses to grace the screen this year. They show up and tear through the difficult script with an ease that suggests they were born to play these characters. I appreciated the fact I got to spend time with their dynamic, one so intimately well drawn that it only serves to enhance the comedic and dramatic events at the core of the film.

Never Goin’ Back is a gorgeous and fulfilling experience that shows us a chapter in the lives of two people who have things figured out, emotionally at the least. I needed to see it now, not only to show myself the things that I should appreciate but also the things that I lack. Great films show you both and Never Goin’ Back is one of those great films.

4 1/2  of 5 Stars

NEVER GOIN’ BACK opens in St. Louis Friday August 17th at Landmark’s Tivoli Theatre