FANCY DANCE -- A Devastating and Beautiful Story of Family

Review by Jonathan Berk

Isabel Deroy-Olson and Lily Gladstone star in “Fancy Dance,” in select theaters June 21 and streaming on Apple TV+ June 28.

Some movies hold a mirror up to our lives, and we will see ourselves in it. Those are often powerful moments that make an audience member feel seen. However, it is often more impactful when a movie opens a window and allows us to see a world we are less familiar with. Those worlds can be fantastical and fictitious, but sometimes they feel like we're looking in our backyard, and we somehow never quite noticed a specific detail right in front of us the entire time. Director Erica Tremblay's Fancy Dance is the latter, offering a view of a world often overlooked by American society that deserves a closer look. 

The film follows Lily Gladstone's character, Jax, after her sister's disappearance as she struggles to take care of her niece, played by Isabel Deroy-Olson. The system seems determined to separate her family, and out of desperation to find her sister and keep her family together, the two hit the road to the Grand Nation Powwow in Oklahoma City. 

Gladstone continues to demonstrate her onscreen power in another emotionally quiet but powerful performance. Her performance is an iceberg with a cool and collected outward demeanor, but her eyes reveal the many complex emotions underneath. Her performances convey so much going on in her head while keeping her composure to those around her. If the story calls for an outburst of that emotion, she is also up for that, but she clearly has a grasp of the power of film acting. The subtlety she brings to her characters and the stories continues to impress. This particular film allows her to flex her skills to great effect. 

Deroy-Olson's debut and style mesh quite well with Gladstone. She's much younger, and her character, Roki, is a little naive. Her optimism and youthfulness make her naivety forgivable and are used to really drive the point of the film home. All Deroy-Olson's character wants to do is make it to the Powwow, where she believes her mom will be, and they'll participate in the family dance ceremony. It's far more than a MacGuffin as it sets the stage for the various systemic problems related to living on the reservation.

Isabel Deroy-Olson and Lily Gladstone star in “Fancy Dance,” in select theaters June 21 and streaming on Apple TV+ June 28.

The characters in the film feel forced to use less than ethical means to get by.  In the opening sequence, Jax and Roki embrace nature and collect supplies. They come across an older man fishing, and Jax tries to distract him while Roki raids his tackle box. As they leave the woods, we see them steal the truck and take it to a shop where they sell what they've collected and stolen to get by. This scene initially plays with tone and is a bit of silly fun at first, but later, as other events unfold, it takes new meaning. 
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Jax's life is not easy, and it was apparently even more challenging for her sister. Interactions with other characters, especially the sisters' father, played excellently by Shea Whigham, and his new wife, played by Audrey Wasilewski, show the challenges put up against them. As the film progresses and Jax and Roki decide to head to the Powwow despite the warnings about it, it becomes clear that there isn't a great outcome for Jax in the world she's living in. 

Fancy Dance is beautiful and sorrowful and is another showcase for Gladstone. Tremblay has given audiences a movie that is heartfelt and informative. Hopeful and devastating. Movies like this embody Roger Ebert's words, allowing audiences to live in someone else's shoes. An opportunity to see problems through a lens we otherwise would have no access to knowing. ​

Fancy Dance is in theaters on June 21 and streaming on Apple TV+ on June 28.

Rating: 4/5