How do you channel grief into something that can be both healing and help you communicate? That’s what director and writer Kate Tsang explores in Marvelous and the Black Hole, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. Starring Rhea Perlman, Miya Cech and Leonardo Nam, this comedic drama tells a touching story about dealing with loss.
Photo Courtesy of Sundance Institute
Following the death of her mother, 13-year-old Sammy (Miya Cech) is lashing out at the world. Enraged by her father’s (Leonardo Nam) new relationship and the teacher of her forced summer entrepreneurial course for adults (Keith Powell), Sammy has so much anger and grief that she doesn’t know what to do with it. A chance encounter with a kid’s party magician named the Marvelous Margot (Rhea Perlman) gives her an unexpected outlet to channel her rage into something creative.
Full of delightful surprises, Kate Tsang incorporates animated moments almost from the start of the picture. It’s as if Sammy is drawing over the film at times throughout the story, scribbling furious circles over a face to create black holes. The story involves some self destructive behaviors, like trying to give herself at-home tattoos and picking up a smoking habit, to trying to hold onto memories of her mother and her Chinese American cultural heritage. Through the folktale of the empress and rabbit on the moon, recently popularized in North America by Glen Keane’s Netflix film Over the Moon, Sammy not only finds a way to feel connected to her deceased mother, but also a way to tell her story using illusions.
Margot’s character becomes somewhat of a spiritual guide for Sammy and while they don’t have as much screen time together as the premise seems to set up, part of the film’s beauty is the way both characters impact each other. There are some fun and wondrous moments that come out of the illusions in the film and a rabbit named Sebastian that makes these scenes joyous. But perhaps the film’s biggest trick is slowly developing the character of Margot and then hitting the audience with a backstory that makes both she and Sammy resonate in a tear-filled grand finale. The biggest trick up Kate Tsang’s sleeve is working her own storytelling magic on the audience.
The biggest challenge with Marvelous and the Black Hole is that the main character is so dark and brooding. While she is embraceable for the most part in the hands of Miya Cech, the character borders on being unlikeable. But for parents, educators and caregivers, the way most of the adults interact with her produces some teachable moments for adults dealing with defiant youth.
Overall, Marvelous and the Black Hole charms and delights viewers with a film that’s as funny as it is moving. It depicts a girl clinging to a reality that can’t exist anymore in a world that is moving on, trying to figure out how she fits into it now. It’s a very relatable film about self identity and expression and one worth your time.
I give Marvelous and the Black Hole 4 out of 5 stars.