Reel Reviews | Marvelous and The Black Hole (Sundance ’21)

by Kevin Sampson | Picture Lock

We all have to deal with pain and grief at some point in our lives. While there may be books and manuals that address how we cope with grief, it affects us all differently. “Marvelous and The Black Hole” is a funny, poignant look at how one young woman deals with loss while gaining lifelong wisdom along the way.

Sammy (Miya Cech) is a teenage delinquent by definition. She has a chip on her shoulder after losing her mother. It doesn’t help that her father has a new love interest, Marianne (Paulina Lule) who happens to have her toothbrush and clothes lying around the house. Her older sister is entrenched in gaming. So everywhere Sammy looks within her family, she feels like her mother is being forgotten. To try and turn his daughter’s attitude around after she gets into some trouble, Angus (Leonardo Nam) gives her an alternative of taking college courses or going to a camp for troubled youth. It’s like Bill and Ted consequences, except Sammy is a one-woman show with enough personality to cover both.

While ditching the Intro To Small Business summer course to tattoo herself in the bathroom stall (her form of cutting), Sammy bumps into Margot (Rhea Perlman). Margot is a magician with a soft spot for Sammy; she sees herself in her. She can see through her angry exterior and soon a relationship emerges. In part, it is forced upon Sammy as her instructor says she must learn from Margot as a business mentor. As time moves forward, a clear appreciation for one another and the wonder that magically creates shine through.

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