ReelBob: ‘Crossroads of America’ ★★★

By Bob Bloom

“Crossroads of America” is a difficult movie to watch.

Set and filmed in Indiana, it examines a single-parent family cramped into a small house in which tragedy and despair are unwanted and unwelcome permanent house guests.

The movie’s main protagonist is Sandy (Laura Sampson Hemingway, who also wrote the movie), the oldest daughter of Glenda (Kaye Tuckerman), a self-styled, part-time psychic more interested in fame than family.

A year earlier, Sandy and her sister, Ellie (Natalia Ortonowska), were involved in a car accident. Sandy was driving drunk, and, in the aftermath of the accident, Ellie is confined to a wheelchair.

The family’s constricted quarters and lack of privacy are the festering places for arguments, recriminations and resentments.

It also doesn’t help that everyone appears self-absorbed.

Sandy, who is half-heartedly going to nursing school, makes semi-porno videos to earn some money; Glenda posts psychic babble on the Internet and Ellie is obsessed with her rehabilitation and trying to get dates to have sex.

In the midst of all this is Carlos (Mitchell Wray), Glenda’s young son and Sandy and Ellie’s little brother. He is mostly left to his own devices, except when his mother works lamely at home-schooling him.

“Crossroads of America” is the story of a dysfunctional family of damaged people coping on the edges of society.

Nothing really major or important happens in the movie. Director Gabrielle Muller focus is on the family’s day-to-day existence and their combustible interactions.

The film is more about playing the cards fate or whatever have dealt you.

The women all talk about improving their lots in life, but really take no action to do so. It is not that they are dreamers; it’s simply that they lack the emotional wherewithal to take the needed steps to climb out of their self-made abyss.

It’s impressive that Muller makes no judgment calls about the family — we never learn a last name. She simply allows you to watch and reach your own conclusions.

You know that — even before the car accident — something was off with the family. There is no mention of Glenda’s husband. We do learn that the family lived with Glenda’s father, and we can surmise — via brief flashbacks — that life in that house was disturbing.

Again, Muller holds off on any details, making you do a lot of mental heavy lifting.

And maybe that is the way Hemingway and Muller planned it. Perhaps what they are showing is a story that is not simply a Hoosier experience, but one that is universal about the loss of innocence and family dynamics.

Families such as those presented in “Crossroads of America” are more common than we would like to believe. And perhaps that is the point Hemingway and Muller are trying to make.

I am a founding member of the Indiana Film Journalists Association. I review movies, 4K UHD, Blu-rays and DVDs for ReelBob (ReelBob.com), The Film Yap and other print and online publications. I can be reached by email at bobbloomjc@gmail.com. You also can follow me on Twitter @ReelBobBloom and on Facebook at ReelBob.com or the Indiana Film Journalists Association. My movie reviews also can be found at Rotten Tomatoes: www.rottentomatoes.com.

CROSSROADS OF AMERICA
3 stars out of 4
Not rated, language, sexual content, partial nudity