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Twentysomething New Yorker Mara confronts the challenges of adulthood while struggling to maintain her long-standing relationship with her erratic friend Jo in this lo-fi indie drama.
They say opposites attract in romantic relationships, but the same could be said for deliberate, responsible Mara (Tallie Medel) and unpredictable Jo (Norma Kuhling), young women who have remained friends since middle school despite their strikingly different personalities. Although both New Yorkers struggle to find rent money, steady work, and meaningful romantic relationships in an unforgiving city, Mara seems to be getting her life together while Jo’s situation only gets more and more precarious. The intense, unlikely bond between the two women is increasingly tested after Jo is fired from her job as a social worker, sending her into a self-destructive tailspin, forcing Mara to come to her aid. As the years pass, Mara must decide whether her friendship with Jo is worth more than her own health and sanity. Savoring low-key scenes of casual conversation spiked with moments of overwhelming emotion, filmmaker, critic, and cinephile Dan Sallitt (The Unspeakable Act) expertly traces the nuanced day-to-day effects of a complicated, sometimes toxic friendship. Featuring stellar performances from Medel and Kuhling, Fourteen is a film of uncommon depth and intelligence.
CAST: TALLIE MEDEL, NORMA KUHLING, LORELEI ROMANI, C. MASON WELLS
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