Sundance Movie Review: The Yellow Handkerchief

The Yellow Handkerchief follows a 15-year-old Louisiana girl, a ex-con, and an awkward annoying young eccentric kid with a blue convertible go on a road trip to, well, nowhere. Just like the film. The whole story is pointless and contrived. How three perfect strangers ended up in a car together is fully explained but not the least bit believable. I feel like the three characters were in a car together because the screenwriter wanted them to be in a car together. The backstories for both of the younger characters are mentioned, but never even followed-up upon.

I'm still not sure why Kristen Stewart has quickly become the new indie IT Girl (following Evan Rachel Wood, and Jena Malone before her). Stewart's over-reactionary mannerisms look almost as odd as her unnaturally brown died hair. Eddie Redmayne's eccentric act had me wondering if his character was mentally challenged, although nothing in the story seemed to suggest such. I'm guessing that the point of the film is for the audience to wonder how the character played by William Hurt, became an ex-con. They reveal this story through a series of LOST-inspired flashbacks intercut throughout. Only, the flashbacks don't offer much to keep your attention.

Unfortunately, The Yellow Handkerchief is the type of stiff, boring and uninteresting film that the general public associates with independent cinema.

/Film Rating: 4 out of 10