Ever since I heard Lily Gladstone was cast in Killers of the Flower Moon she has been on my radar. So when I heard she was in a film at Sundance 2023 I was very excited. Fancy Dance is that film and it gave me a lot of good vibes for how good she can be in Martin Scorsese’s latest film. This one was a great start for her though. A Film by Odewaye:Sta, 

Jax Goodiron (Lily Gladstone) is a Native American woman who is letting her niece Roki Goodiron (Isabel Deroy-Olson) stay with her because her mother has gone missing. She doesn’t get much help in the search from her brother JJ (Ryan Begay) a Native American police officer. While visiting her friend, Sapphire (Crystale Lightning), at a strip club her niece is taken into protective custody and later handed over to father Frank (Shea Whigham) and stepmother Nancy (Audrey Waslewski), because they are supposedly fit parents for her. 

The writer/director Erica Tremblay and co-writer Miciana Alise ground this film in reality. On the reservation in Oklahoma, it’s not easy for Native Americans to make a living. For women, selling drugs and their bodies comes easy. And they can make good money from them. The same goes for other women of a lower class. or underrepresented races. This film captures that very well. 

A key element of this movie is Native American culture. Represented by a powwow. Deroy-Olson’s character has a dream of dancing with her mother at a special event. The problem is there are secrets unsaid and things that have happened that have put this in jeopardy.  The investigation of her mother is more complicated than it seems. This movie has an element of a road trip film which allows the writers to expand on a couple of the main characters’ backstories.

Samantha Crain is the music supervisor of the film and she mixes a beautiful score with traditional Native American music from the culture featured in the film. Combined with a good story and direction behind the scenes stuff is very good in the small indie film. These women are the ones to watch in the future. Especially if they are given a bigger budget. 

This film has a part of it that if I mention it it would spoil the film. There is a lot of character development in this part of the movie but it also brings the film full circle. We learn about the motivations of some characters and the consequences of their actions. Lily Gladstone shows a lot of promise in this role and the other film she is in, The Unknown Country. I can’t wait to see her in Killers of the Flower Moon. 

Watched Virtualy at Outfest 2023

3 ½ stars

Dan Skip Allen