Review: 'Marvelous And The Black Hole' a Potent Story

A coming-of-age film without a main character romance, "Marvelous and the Black Hole" plays the neat trick of letting the audience assume they know all there is to know about where the story is going until the last ten minutes. I am enamored of any production which keeps the entire story contained in an hour and a half: At a tight eighty minutes the additional animations, fantastic elements, and emotionally careening soundtrack pack a nice, tidy punch. With a hearty dose of black comedy that veers towards horror, this movie is more appropriate for older teenagers, and also the young at heart.

Sammy (Miya Cech) is a teen who cares little about herself and others when in the grip of strong emotion. Sammy's father and sister have moved on from a family tragedy by using whatever means they can, although they are clearly both suffering, too. Still, Sammy feels alone and misunderstood, surrounded by people who seem to care more that she pretend to be functional rather than actually feeling copacetic. When Sammy meets significantly older small-time magician Margot (Rhea Perlman), they surprise each other into starting new phases of life.

Margot sees someone in trouble, a person who needs an outlet to realize her full self. Sammy rarely censors herself, and broadcasts her negative emotions the majority of the time. With all that extra time for practice, she does struggle with expressing anything other than her negative emotions. While Sammy's family fails over and over again to help Sammy adjust to big changes in her life, Margot's attempts to draw Sammy away from her grief and rage. While their friendship is more formative than long-lasting, it is clear that they both make permanent impressions on each other.

"Marvelous and the Black Hole" opens in theaters April 22nd.