Nerdly » ‘Root Letter’ Review

07th Sep2022

‘Root Letter’ Review

by Alain Elliott

Stars: Danny Ramirez, Keana Marie, Lydia Hearst, Kate Edmunds, Mark St. Cyr, Sam A Coleman, Breon Pugh, Kate Edmonds, Terry J. Nelson, Dodie Brown, Jonetta Kaiser | Written by David Ebeltoft | Directed by Sonja O’Hara

Root Letter’s main story involves a relationship between pan pals. Now, pen pals is an idea that I assume the current younger generation have no idea about, although it’s not a whole lot different to messaging people you may have never met via the Internet. I guess in case some people don’t know ‘pen pals’ are two people that stay in touch and generally become friends via the use of written letters. I think between the ages of about 11 and 13 I had a pen pal who I would eventually meet in person once and we first wrote to each other through the pages of a video game magazine. In Root Letter the two characters initially correspond through a school project.

This is when Carlos (Danny Ramirez) and Sarah (Keana Marie) start writing to each other and it doesn’t take long for them to enjoy reading and writing each other’s letters much more than they thought they would. With Carlos stuck in hospital and Sarah’s home life with her drug-addicted mother, both of them see the letters as a small ray of sunshine in what is a difficult life for both. But then Carlos doesn’t receive any more letters and the correspondence stops, only to start up again a year later. This new letter starts his search for his missing friend.

The movie manages well to work out around the fact that most people could be found pretty easily these days with the use of their phone and the Internet. Reasons are explained here as to why that isn’t really possible and instead Carlos has to rely on little snippets of information and clues as he navigates Sarah’s home town and the friends she once had.

This isn’t any kind of action thriller though, with a fast-paced chase to find the girl. The film focuses first on building the relationship they had and the world around Sarah. Never give away too much too early and instead you, as a viewer, feel like you’re going along on the search with Carlos.

Ramirez (recently seen in Top Gun: Maverick) is fantastic in the (co) lead role. He manages to portray this young but tough guy who feels very ‘real’ and is somehow still very likeable. Ramirez, like the best actors, is really good at the small things. Just little reactions, that kind of thing. It’s no surprise that he already has a pretty great CV that includes The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and Assassination Nation, I’m sure he’ll continue to impress in future movies. He’s surrounded by a strong cast though and the dialogue-heavy, story-driven movie relies on these strong performances. Marie as Sarah is less experienced than Ramirez but still highly impressive in what is an at times intense role. And there are plenty of other good performances – Lydia Hearst as the drug addict mother, Kate Edmunds as Sarah’s not-so-great best friend and Mark St. Cyr as the small town gangster who is pretty damn scary at times.

Surprisingly (because it’s not the type of movie you’d consider to be one), this is based on a video game. The kind of video game I am enjoying currently – a visual novel adventure – so I will definitely be checking it out soon.

The pace is a little slow at times but Root Letter clocks in at less than 85 minutes, so never outstays its welcome. Those hoping or expecting an explosion of a conclusion will be left disappointed but I think how the movie ends fits better with the story. It slowly grinds to a halt, leaving some hope for the characters. Smaller indie movies rarely impress when they just try to be interesting and well-acted with no ‘gimmick’ but Root Letter does impress. Director Sonja O’Hara’s transition from acting seems to be going very well and her other movie out this year, Mid-Century, looks just as intriguing.