An original and intriguing DIY indie film by childhood pals, Alexandra Kotcheff and Hannah Leder, who assumed nearly all scripting, performing and production duties. Filmed in a small Californian desert village by the Salton Sea, this debut feature took nearly 5 years to complete as the actresses fit the project in while working on other jobs and as funds allowed. The Planters very much echoes the deadpan whimsy of Wes Anderson films with a dash of Lynch and bits of claymation. Kotcheff plays Martha Plant, a telemarketer selling air conditioners who sucks at her job. Her parents have recently died in a horrible accident. She has a peculiar side gig burying items in the desert and putting them up for sale. One day while burying something, she meets a wandering woman (Leder) who, as a non-violent mental patient, was recently released from the local facility because of budget cuts. Martha takes her in but soon discovers the woman has 3 personalities: Sadie, sweet and intelligent with a Jesus fixation; Emma, a 4 year old with major potty training issues and Angie, a party-hearty girl.
The film was released in September 2020 and is curiously prescient (work began in 2015) of what the world was experiencing because of Covid. Death of parents, isolation, lack of friendship, contact and TLC from another person-all universal themes of the human condition. While some plot devices are well-worn, this is a sweet and loving film by Kotcheff and Leder full of wry social commentary with clever and fun bits. Not a direct spoiler alert but worth mentioning to pique your interest: the
ending scenes point to a Eastern Orthodox peculiarity: the Holy Fool
and that Kotcheff is of Bulgarian descent.
It took me a while to warm up to the film, to enter that particular universe but patience paid off with a heapin' helpin' of enjoyment. And with a running time of only 78 minutes, it's not a huge investment of time.
A personal note: my first job getting out of high school was working as a telemarketer. My job was to cold call people to get them to come to a info meeting involving vacation property in Northern MI called Lakes of the North. Four hours in the evening, minimum wage, a bonus for each sucker, I mean potential client, who signed up. I probably did this for a month before starting what later turned out to be a 25 year stint with Kroger.
