“What Lies West” – The horizon [MOVIE REVIEW]
“What Lies West,” written and directed by Jessica Ellis in her feature directing debut, is a sweet and engaging dual coming of age film. Shot on a shoestring, a very thin shoestring, against odds that couldn’t be foreseen, it’s a real life example of Robert Burns’ “The best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men gang aft a gley.” It was filmed in a total of 17 days but took far longer to finish. Between the end of the first shooting segments and the final ones, Ellis underwent open heart surgery and the Sonoma County wildfires burned many of the previously shot exteriors. And then again, there was that pesky pandemic that cut short the festival circuit. But this feisty American Film Institute (AFI)- trained crew prevailed. What Lies West” tells the story of Nicolette and Chloe, both young women on the cusp of life but coming at it from different angles. Nicolette, a recent college graduate, has decided to spend her summer at home contemplating her next moves. An acting major, she decides against joining her friends going to LA to begin the audition rounds for theater and film work. Her ostensible excuse, “Nobody gets famous doing plays in L.A.” Maybe true, but even within her outwardly…
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