The ocean is where she belongs. Maybe her tribe is out there.
Precariously exiting the water after their surf session, a pair of teenagers barely escape confrontation outside an extremely guarded right-handed break. Washing over their salty wetsuits is a sense of relief with empathy towards a man who catches the attention of nearby sun-bleached aggressors. “Beaches are not private but they might as well be,” we’re told and then shown the intimidated man abandoning his father-son surfing plans in the face a film-friendly adaption of the Lunada Bay Boys, a notorious group of local surfers known for their aggressive localism and violent acts towards tourists that is rarely, if ever, seen at east coast breaks. Moving to the home of what Newsweek called “America’s most notorious surf gang” is not an ideal locale to be the new kid in town, but that’s exactly the backdrop of the So-Cal coming-of-age film The Tribes of Palos Verdes from brothers Brendan and Emmett Malloy.
Medina Mason (Maika Monroe) and twin brother Jim (Cody Fern) soon learn that the picturesque paradise of Palos Verdes will not be the answer their damaged family needs but may offer each their respective paths to self-discovery. As Jim’s preoccupation with popularity lands him a circle of new friends with new drugs, Medina loses her closest lifeline whilst her parents’ relationship has broken. With a home now unrecognizable and offering no comfort, she finds strength and stability through what many watermen before her have done: surfing.
Jennifer Garner, who also executive produces, stars as the mentally distressed mother, whose condition is never explicitly identified. Garner, a real-life mother-of-three, is often spotted with her kids in tow, evoking the kind parenting she’s exhibited in recent doting mommy roles. Her turn as Sandy Mason, however, is a testament to her range that we suspected she had, recalling her days of espionage as Sydney Bristow in TV’s Alias. Her downward spiral fueled by co-dependence, hysteria and revelations that convince her that a move to Minnesota or a new California swimming pool will solve her troubles is enough trouble for any person to battle, even with a partner, but is heartbreaking to watch Garner’s hopeless attempts to build a happy household.
Maika Monroe / IFC Films
While not a surf film, the Malloys’ adaptation of Joy Nicholson’s novel offers the obligatory romanticism of west coast surfing through montages and sun-soaked lenses, providing the haze of a pleasant and affluent community that Medina cleanses herself in the place she belongs – the violently unpredictable but therapeutic ocean; Medina explains that other than battling jellyfish, sharks, stingray and riptides, it’s pure magic. When the melodrama and ambiguous family ties are not front-and-center, Medina’s narration provides additional insight to her moments of self-reflection and gazing towards the diminishing number of Pacific sunsets between her past and uncertain future.
Possibly drawing from her own anxieties of her Santa Barbara upbringing, Monroe confidently fills the screen with a stoic force among a cast of familiar faces: Goran Visnjic, Alicia Silverstone and Justin Kirk as the philandering patriarch of the Mason tribe. However, it’s Garner’s Sandy that shines as she’s most in need of an escape from her trials and we witness her, much to our discomfort, endure it all, channeling a performance from Gena Rowlands as A Woman Under the Influence that demands attention.
The Tribes of Palos Verdes
Directors: Brendan Malloy, Emmett Malloy
Writers: Karen Croner, Joy Nicholson (novel)
Stars: Maika Monroe, Cody Fern, Jennifer Garner, Justin Kirk, Noah Silver
Rated R for drug use, teenage sexuality and emotional distress.
Runtime: 1h44m
Now Playing in theatres and On-Demand.