Genre: Drama/Road
Director: Sean Baker
Writer: Chad Taylor
Cast: Olivia Cooke, Katherine Langford, Zoe Kravitz, Harris Dickinson, Wyatt Russell, Emory Cohen, Kate Beckinsale, Joaquin Phoenix
In May 1977, twins Olivia (Olivia Cooke) and Katherine (Katherine Langford) have just graduated high school and are slowly growing apart. Katherine has the more stable plans of the two, having just accepted an offer to a four-year private university where she will start in the fall. Olivia is more directionless, seeking to escape Midwest surburban life to live on the west coast. Sensing the angst driving a wedge between their two daughters, their mom (Kate Beckinsale) suggest the girls go to the Grateful Dead concert in nearby Chicago to see their older brother (who works as a sound technician for the band). After debating it for a while, they decide to do it. Their mom gives them an envelope of cash and hugs them goodbye.
At the concert, the girls become entranced in the magnetic atmosphere. After some negotiation with security, they get in contact with their brother Ian (Emory Cohen), who is shocked to see them. It is clear that he is under the influence of some drug, but he is very cordial. When they rave about the experience of the concert, he suggests that - since it’s summer - they partition their money and join up with a growing group of Deadheads who follow the band from city to city. Katherine is immediately hesitant but Olivia’s why-not attitude eventually convinces her.
On the road in between shows, the girls talk to each more than they had in the previous six months combined. They become friendly with a group of twentysomethings that follow the band around, as Ian had suggested. Talia (Zoe Kravitz), in particular, takes the girls under her wings and their friends group introduce the girls to marijuana (Olivia acts as if she’s done it before but is lying). Katherine begins to develop a crush on Talia’s boyfriend Mark (Wyatt Russell) - confident, robust and hair down to his shoulders. It is unclear if he reciprocates these feelings, and Katherine hides these feelings around Talia. Meanwhile, Olivia starts to become a little homesick and tries to find a way to contact her mom. She gets access to a phone with the assistance of Oscar (Harris Dickinson), a sweet stagehand for the band that she develops an immediate connection with. Although her mom is understandably angry, she is glad they are with their brother and wants them back home soon enough. She asks Olivia if Ian told them his big news, which obviously Olivia is completely confused by.
In the middle of the tour, Katherine has fully embraced the lifestyle and has shortened her name to Kat. Upon being asked, Ian (clearly sober now) tells his sisters that he’s actually wrapping up his time with the band. Earlier in the year, he’d applied to a few schools and got accepted into a community college near their home. Talia and co. offer the girls to acid with them, which Kat is eager to do to be closer to Mark. Olivia declines and instead spends time with Oscar instead. She is honest with him about how she is now longing for her home and he is completely understanding. They share a passionate kiss as Kat tries acid for the first time. She touches Mark’s hand “accidentally” but he is dismissive of it, as if to say not to do something like that around Talia.
The car rides in between shows now become longer because of re-emergence of the separation between the two sisters.
Ian’s final day on the tour. As he has a heart to heart with Olivia, she comes to the realization that she needs to go back to her comfort zone, her home. When Kat joins them, Ian tells them he loves them and will hopefully see them back at home on Christmas break. He tells them he has a surprise for them, and introduces them to Jerry Garcia (Joaquin Phoenix) – who he is saying goodbye to. The girls are awe-struck as Garcia is actually very warm, personable and inquisitive about their lives. He gives them some philosophical advice, although the two girls clearly interpret it differently. He wishes Ian well on the next stage of his life. Afterwards, the girls have one last goodbye with their brother.
In the climactic scene, the band plays a full 12-minute rendition of ‘Morning Dew’. While Talia and Kat transcend into an acid trip on one side of the arena, on the other, Mark comes on to Olivia – to her surprise. He tries to kiss her but she turns away. He tells her he’s always had a thing for her, but it’s not clear if Mark, clearly inebriated, recognizes this is Olivia and not Kat. After he tries for a kiss again and she again rejects, he becomes forceful and sticks his hand down her pants (having a handful of the back of her hair with his other). Oscar, who’s been looking for Olivia to profess his love before she leaves, walks in and punches Mark. Mark fights back – descending into chaos, causing bystanders to enter the fray to break it up. Olivia, in hysterics, frantically makes her way through the crowd looking for her sister. Meanwhile, Kat is totally in another world – eyes closed, arms swaying, dancing to the music as if she’s blowing in the wind. Olivia, in full-on tears now, falls to her knees in humiliation – the camera panning out to where she becomes lost in a crowd of hundreds.
The next morning, Olivia informs Oscar (sporting a black eye) that she is heading back home. He pleads with her to stay but she lets him know it’s time. She gives him her home phone number and they kiss one last time – never knowing if they’ll cross paths again. She tells Kat that she has made up her mind and is heading back home. Although she doesn’t come out and say it, she implies that Katherine should come with her. Kat tells her she has found her true calling here and would like to stay with her new family – seemingly abandoning the university life that awaits her. When Olivia tries to warn her sister about Mark, Kat accuses her of falsely believing she always knows what’s best for her. They say their stoic goodbyes and have a moment of slight hesitation – leaving room for a hug but not executing one. Olivia drives on the highway by herself and turns off the radio.
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