Final Rating: 2.5/5
Listen to our interview with Caitlyn Sponheimer from the Vancouver International Film Festival.
“This isn’t stealing, it’s redemption or borrowing or whatever,” Goat says with all the forethought of a prepubescent child. Wild Goat Surf is fairly represented in that line of dialogue. It’s a movie that director, writer and star Caitlyn Sponheimer lets meander in whichever direction the wind blows, for better and for worse.
Goat, an impish and standoffish Shayelin Martin, is trying to enjoy her summer in Penticton. It’s suggested that she and her mother Jane (Sponheimer) have seen better times, but this particular summer is not one of them. After illegally subletting their rented house, they take up residence in an RV by Skaha Lake.
In an effort to kill time during the day, Goat befriends Nate (Leandro Guedes) and the two engage in a variety of activities that will harken back to any viewer’s time as a kid during the summer. Goat and Nate paint each others’ nails, dye their hair, play in the local arcade, steal from the local convenience store, make fun of the other campers, and watch bugs fly around a light the way one might stargaze. The film’s greatest strength is capturing the life of a kid during summer in such an authentic way.
However, things are not picturesque and Sponheimer doesn’t try to convince anyone that they are. Goat and Jane are very flawed individuals going through a particularly tough time. Very early in the film, the two play a game suggesting reasons why Goat’s father is no longer in their lives. Despite Goat and Jane’s laughter, their despair and sadness are clearly evident. Like most of the film, this moment is understated and quiet as Sponheimer tries to give everything a natural feel.
The remainder of the film plays out like a lighter version of Jonah Hill’s mid90s. Goat makes decisions without thinking and watches as the consequences come back to bite her friend, her mother, and ultimately herself. Jane makes her own series of missteps, as well. Both mother and daughter find themselves unable to get out of their own way and make the right decision more often than not.
While Sponheimer gives a strong performance as Jane and draws a strong one out of Martin, the rest of the youth actors in the film can come across somewhat wooden in their line deliveries. Furthermore, the film loses steam whenever Goat envisions a surfer giving her advice. It’s a slow-moving film with limited forward momentum to start with. That makes these interludes all the more jarring, like setting up periodical stop signs before reaching an intersection.
Wild Goat Surf’s pacing works best when it’s showcasing the relationships Goat has with Jane and Nate. She adversely impacts both of them and her attempts at reconciliation are beautifully emblematic of being a twelve-year-old. These slice of life moments are tender and portend great things from Sponheimer and Martin’s careers moving forward.
When the movie makes the turn down the homestretch toward its conclusion, the plot accelerates, ending the story’s meandering nature. Goat and Jane face reality as this idyllic world they’ve been trying to cultivate around themselves finally shatters. The ending is touching, but would have resonated more strongly if the mediocre patch job Goat and Jane were performing on their life had been given a little more weight throughout the first three-quarters of the film.
Caitlyn Sponheimer’s vivid voice is all over Wild Goat Surf as she handles the direction, writing, and one of the major roles of the movie. The relationships and summer life that she crafts are both compelling, but fall short of fully congealing together.
Thank you to PenderPR for the screener.
