By Jan Hamilton
As the film opens, Elliot (Jeremy Allen White), a 23 year old Brooklyn man, parties and randomly beds various females. He doesn’t seem to have a care. Later in the subway he approaches Mia, (Maika Monroe), a nice looking young blonde woman who is listening to a pod cast. He reminds her that she is a customer at the sandwich shop where he works. She resists the pickup attempt.
Some days later, she goes to the sandwich shop and is told he is out ill. We learn he had been feeling pains and a doctor has just told him that he has Ewing’s Sarcoma, a rare cancer. He and Mia meet later as friends, she is the first person to whom he tells his diagnosis. He asks her to come to New Jersey with him to tell his folks the bad news andshe agrees.
Later, as Elliott goes through chemo, the two young people start to fall in love. Is it possible they can make the relationship work? The title refers to the nature of their relationship, like the typical shotgun wedding. The thing that drives them together hastily is not a baby, but the very real possibility that Elliot doesn’t have much time to live.
This was a unique and well done film, with directing and screenwriting shared by Hanna Marks and Joey Power, this is the first feature for both. Hanna has also been a very busy actor since she was a child. Good performances and a nice sense of place make this a movie worth checking out.
Credits:
Director: Hannah Marks & Joey Power
Producer: Jordan Yale Levine,
Jordan Beckerman, Michael Rothstein,
Sean Glover
Screenwriter: Hannah Marks, Joey Power
Cinematographer: Sandra Valde-Hansen
Editor: Gordon Grinberg
Production Designer: Laura Miller
Sound Designer: Flavorlab
Music: Xander Singh
Principal Cast: Maika Monroe,
Jeremy Allen White, DeRon Horton,
Marisa Tomei, Sasha Lane, Joe Keery,
Gina Gershon, Dean Winters, Olivia Luccardi
Additional Credits: Co-Producer: Jon Keeyes