REVIEW: Crime Gets Romantic In ‘Marmalade’

A crime-focused romance with just the right amount of humor, Marmalade is a pastel-styled dream. Written and directed by Keir O’Donnell, this indie film is anything but quiet. With a core cast of Joe Keery, Camila Morrone, and Aldis Hodge, the tight 100-minute runtime is a great ride.

Starting in a prison cell, we meet the recently incarcerated Baron (Joe Keery). And by recent, I mean the day he comes in. Nervous and clearly not cut out for prison life, he strikes up a friendship with cellmate Otis (Aldis Hodge), a man with a well-versed history of prison breaks. As the pair hatch an escape plan together, Baron tells his story.

It starts with his circumstances, his sick mom, and how he met Marmalade (Camila Morrone). Mamalade is, very specifically, the love of his life. Pink-haired and electric, the titular character is the quintessential manic pixie dream girl. Baron’s life is bad, but he still has his mom to take care of. But romance starts, and so does their “Bonnie and Clyde” scheme to rob a bank. Stealing the money will help care for his sick mother care, which keeps getting more expensive. As the price gouging of his mother’s medicine continues and he begins to want to start a new life with Marmalade, Baron is ready to take a step to get the life they’ve dreamed of.

Marmalade is a stylized vision of the manic pixie dream girl swooping into a sad man’s life and ruining it beyond repair. It’s exciting and funny while also offering clever narration tricks that play into Baron’s role in prison. By starting with the end result and recounting events that led up to his prison sentence, the film becomes infinitely more interesting. The sight gags land better and break up Baron’s truly depressing life while giving the audience an air of distrust with the events they’re watching unfold.

But that is only one part of the movie. An unreliable narrator expands and repackages the truth instead of just lying. Marmalade uses Baron to direct the film’s narrative. He guides Otis through his love life, his family, and his circumstances. But Marmalade’s turn in the third act is better left unspoiled. It’s a different movie in its ending than how it started. The film is a slightly manic crime story that uses sincerity to capture its audience and deliver its final emotional payoff.

When the film transitions, it feels natural but isn’t expected. Every moment leading up to the series of twists grasps the audience and pushes them further into the film’s narrative. The ability for a twist to feel like a natural progression on unexpected progression is hard to pull off. Marmalade pulls it off.

Across the board, Joe Keery, Camila Morrone, and Aldis Hodge make this film something special. Quirky, stylized, and always narratively aware of the twists, weaving, and revealing, Marmalade is stellar. Every character anchors the narrative and offers endearing performances. Keery’s Baron is the right amount of sad and sweet. Hodge’s Otis is thoughtful and empathetic. And Morrone’s Marmalade is an agent of chaos that makes the whole tale spin elegantly out of control.

Marmalade is fantastic. Its weirdness is strong, and its heart is stronger. With an interesting narrative set-up and engaging performances, it’s a film that absolutely needs to be seen.

Marmalade is streaming now to stream on VOD.