January 18, 2025 – Lost in a lonely world of escapism, two teenagers take very different paths to cope with the grim reality of their existence in this very imaginative movie, featuring two arresting musical performances.

Two young teenagers, Owen (played by Ian Foreman) and Maddy (played by Brigette Lundy-Paine of “Bill and Ted Face the Music”) become obsessed with a TV show, “The Pink Opaque.”

They watch the show together, but are not romantically linked, since Owen is heterosexual, and Maddy is not. They form a strong bond over the show and imagine themselves as the heroes of the show, Isabel and Tara, using their superpowers to fight the evil Mr. Melancholy.

We skip ahead several years, and Owen (played as an adult by Justice Smith of “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom”) is working at a low-paying dead end job. He seems to be dying a little bit each day. Maddy disappeared years ago, leaving only a burning TV set in her back yard to mark her departure. Before she left, she told Owen she was leaving. She wanted for Owen to go with her, but he stayed home.

One day, Maddy comes back for Owen. They meet in a bar, where Phoebe Bridgers, Haley Dahl, their band Sloppy Jane, and Kristina Esfandiari and her band King Woman (appearing as themselves) are performing (amazing performances, by the way). Maddy once again asks Owen to come away with her to the magical land of The Pink Opaque.

Maddy tells Owen where she has been these past years, wandering around the U.S., working dead-end jobs like Owen has. Maddy tells Owen of an attempt at rebirth, which involves being buried alive in a coffin and escaping. It sounds impossible, but she claims to have done it and survived. Owen has his doubts.

Maddy proposes that she and Owen undergo some similar kind of rebirth procedure in order to get into another plane of existence where they are both heroes in the world of The Pink Opaque. Owen seems to have visions related to the world of The Pink Opaque and he is tempted to escape into it. Some of these visions are like nightmares. As Owen gets older and his life seems increasingly pointless, the escape into The Pink Opaque seems more like a viable option.

This movie, written and directed by Jane Schoenbrun, with cinematography by Eric Yue (“A Thousand and One”) production design by Brandon Tonner-Connolly (“Brigsby Bear”) art direction by Naomi Munro (“It Comes at Night”) and set decoration by Paige Mitchell, and an inventive visual effects team, looks otherworldly.

As Owen walks down the street, there are glowing, chalk-like art drawings on the pavement. There is a scene where Owen seems to be trying to enter a TV set, which is emitting strange patterns of light. This is a fantastic-looking movie, with visual fireworks and nightmarish visions.

I was all in on this movie up until the end, when I was disappointed in the conclusion. I wanted to see what happened with these people, but the movie ends abruptly and inconclusively. It left me hanging. Still, it is a great looking movie up to that point. It needed a full story, instead of an aborted one. It rates a B.

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