As far as criticizing the way in which the outside world condemns thee inappropriate relationship that evolves within this film, the script and direction is severely lacking.

| Jul 22, 2024

This is a delicate drama that tackles grooming and sex trafficking with a deft hand.

| Feb 13, 2024

When you get to the horrifying climax, it’s both unthinkable and inevitable.

| Jan 3, 2024

The subject matter is undeniably disturbing, and made more so by the realistic way it's portrayed in Jamie Dack's Palm Trees and Power Lines -- incredibly, the director's first feature film.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Nov 15, 2023

This is not exploitative, sleazy fare. An all-female creative team have ensured the truth of such a toxic situation must be told. An incredible performance from newcomer McInerny ensured this truth is heard.

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Nov 8, 2023

The well-acted Palm Trees and Power Lines is not perfect but frankly impressive. It succeeds in plunging us into the psyche of a teenager, and does it with captivating introspection.

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Aug 22, 2023

The slow burn of manipulation and rebellion haunt one scene after the next with Jonathan Tucker inhabiting the same inviting temptation of Badlands and Smooth Talk until we inevitably wake into the nightmare that has been waiting since the first meeting.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Jul 19, 2023

Palm Trees and Power Lines is not an easy film to watch, but its message, even if it’s tough to swallow, is a powerful one that deserves attention, and it’s delivered strongly by all involved.

| Apr 1, 2023

A harrowing, well-acted portrayal of what grooming really looks like

| Original Score: 4/5 | Mar 19, 2023

Jamie Dack's film feels authentic which is why it’s so disturbing, Lily McInerny and Jonathan Tucker deliver bold performances, and the ending will resonate with many as the story’s impact lingers days after viewing. Should be required viewing for teens.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Mar 12, 2023

The relationship McInerny and Tucker build is so convincing in its mixture of exploitation and yearning that Palm Trees and Power Lines capably secures what Lea desires most too: your attention.

| Mar 8, 2023

This movie is exceptional and I never want to see it again. It's executed so well, particularly Lily McInery and Jonathan Tucker's performances and that simple, devastating ending. A film that's hard to watch and even harder to forget

| Original Score: 4.5/5 | Mar 7, 2023

Dack seems to have forced a copious personality—whether her own or Lea’s—into a framework that fits it poorly. When the payoff comes, it’s too little and late.

| Mar 7, 2023

It’s a bold, bleak and unapologetic work exposing inescapable truths about the world, about sex and relationships and power.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Mar 6, 2023

The film takes its characters, as well as the viewer, to some extraordinarily dark places, acknowledging the predatory underpinnings of the relationship, before concluding on a note as quietly despairing as any film in recent memory.

| Mar 6, 2023

The film is eerie & provocative. Everything from the sound design to the lead performance brings a sense of inevitability that is a cautionary tale.

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Mar 6, 2023

Dack’s lack of style behind the camera means that the only thing we can focus on in Palm Trees and Power Lines is the story, which is so overwhelmingly unpleasant that it leaves little room to get engaged.

| Mar 6, 2023

An empathetic discomfort simmers throughout this provocative coming-of-age drama that navigates tricky thematic territory with sincerity and conviction.

| Mar 4, 2023

This is a movie operating on the principle that the most routine form of this violence isn’t sensational, but subtle.

| Mar 3, 2023

The kind of movie you watch increasingly through your fingers, not able to look away from what the 17-year-old heroine can’t see or won’t.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Mar 3, 2023