[MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS]
You can’t count the zeros in a kajillion because…you can’t. The same goes for the number of emotions that I felt when I watched the movie Kajillionaire, it is uncountable. This movie was written and directed by Miranda July, starring Evan Rachel Wood and Gina Rodriguez with Richard Jenkins and Debra Winger. It premiered at the Sundance Film Festival 25th of January 2020 and was released in the theaters later on September 25 of the same year.
The movie features an unusual family of three consisting of con-artist parents and their 26-year-old touch-deprived and emotionally distant daughter who grew up as an accomplice to their illegal shenanigans, which they named after a homeless man, Old Dolio. The film presents the pursuits that this family went to in order to pay a way-overdue rent to their dilapidated apartment (or old office). In one of their many attempts to earn money, the family met a friendly woman, Melanie, who the parents grew a liking for. She helped the family gain a few bucks by stealing from lonely retirees who just wanted to feel the presence of people in their lives again. In the end, Melanie, fed up with the parent’s sickening behavior, cut strings but not without Old Dolio. As events unfold, without breaking any sweat she opens the eyes of Old Dolio to make her realize that her upbringing was not normal, that her parents are incapable of changing their behavior, and that she will not be seen as an offspring in this life or another, she will always only be a colleague in their messed-up felonies.
It certainly is a unique concept that lightly fits the 21st century’s postmodernism that dwells on the absurd and deviates from having the conventional and typical theme that doesn’t specifically present a clear-cut or logical meaning. This crime-comedy-drama, as I previously stated, brought me so many emotions, it made me feel happy, anxious, frustrated, annoyed, titillated, hopeful, and in love. All in a mush as if I'm on a roller coaster ride.
The movie highlights how important the environment of a child-turn-adult is, like what several psychologists and sociologists have proved in their several studies and theories, that environment has an effect on the way children are molded in their growth. The upbringing matters, and in this movie, Old Dolio is not given the usual warmth and love that a child is supposed to have growing up. At a young age, she was taught how to forge documents and do little petty crimes. She was neglected and denied the childhood and freedom that she had the right to have.
Using The Truman Show (1998) starring Jim Carrey as a parallel, Old Dolio like Truman, was honed and shaped like a puppet, with strings that other people control in their lives. Due to this kind of lifestyle Old Dolio develops a concerning view of life, which I too, could relate to on a specific level.
In a scene where she talks to an old dying man, she said (and it makes my heart ache to type this) “Life is, nothing. Just let it go without thinking about it. Like you’re letting go of a piece of string. Just let it…it’s not a big deal” While this could be reassuring at the moment, for her, who hasn't seen what the world has in store for her, makes that line impactful and sad. It shows that she sees life as static–a straight line that we are all living for, nothing but the inevitable death because she wasn’t given the opportunity to experience and to see the beauty of life; the ups, and downs, the cries and laughter. Just like the song said “No reason to stay, is a good reason to go” That’s why after experiencing that “death” in the gasoline station toilet, she had a sudden appreciation for life and the world and the sudden urge to experience…to experience.
Old Dolio’s deprivation of physical touch is one of the circulating concepts in the movie, and the one that builds up towards the sprouting–satisfying conclusion in the end. That search for tenderness and touch that was denied to her by her own parents was found in the arms of a stranger. Sometimes, it takes a new pair of eyes to see what’s wrong with something, be it a magnum opus or life. This is what I liked the most in the movie–I think most people like a movie if the main protagonist gets what she deserves, the uncertain “happily ever after” and the ending did just that. Old Dolio’s freedom slowly and carefully unfolds. It wasn’t perfect but it gave such a big sigh of relief.
Overall, the director/writer Miranda July proves that she can mix weird, absurd, and uncomfortable with fun and wholesome. Actress, Evan Rachel Wood absolutely nailed her performance in embodying the character from the voice, mannerisms, and overall characteristics to give life to a person who hadn’t had the opportunity to live. And Gina Rodriguez put an exciting flair to Melanie’s free-spirited character that made her unforgettable.
I watched this movie in the middle of the peak of the pandemic and the weight of the year’s events was in my heart as I watched it but the movie felt like a warm hug whilst at the same time in every minute, a giant face palm.
What really is being wealthy? What is the importance of being a kajillionaire and having all these ravishing tangible things if you’re deprived of simple abstract things such as love and experience?
If you’re looking for a new favorite movie to have this year, consider this movie, it won’t disappoint.
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Let me know what you think in the comments! Thank you for reading!
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