Lime Salted LoveBy IFQ Critic Todd Konrad Emotionally wrenching and visually surreal, if one were to characterize Lime Salted Love that would be a fitting place to start. Co-directed by Danielle Agnello and Joe Hall, the film is an in-depth exploration into the sorted lives of a group of hip LA denizens attempting to cope with the demons that haunt their dreams. Structurally, the film's fragmented style is reminiscent of equal parts David Lynch, 21 Grams, and Lodge Kerrigan's Clean, Shaven. As a starting point, the story is reflected through the shattered psyche of David Triebel (David J. O'Donnell); a recent ward of the local mental hospital. Constantly barraged by non-existent visions and shards of disjointed reality, David is a keeper of pain and guilt and through his eyes we are allowed entrée into the film's spider web of souls.Besides David, three other characters form a quartet from which torrents of repressed emotions soon spill over the floodgates. Chase (Joe Hall) is David's younger brother who lives his life in the shadows of his siblings; ignored and emotionally jettisoned from his family after a childhood tragedy from which no one recovered, Chase lives his life from moment to moment seeking attention and affection from whomever he can siphon it from. Unfortunately, that also includes David's own sensual wife Isabella played by striking, rising star Kate del Castillo (Trade, Bordertown). Unable to come to grips with his past yet craving what he was denied, Chase enters into a damaging relationship with Ellie (Danielle Agnello).Herself a victim of childhood abuse, both physical and psychological, Ellie is an open book emotionally. Hiding behind a near-somnambulist state brought on by drugs, she does everything possible to keep that sobbing little girl hidden within. However, hope or at the very least empathy arrives in the form of Zephyr (Kristanna Loken); an independent photographer who immediately connects and forms a deep bond with Ellie because she herself sees the torment that lies beneath Ellie's skin.Relying on an emotional rather than temporal chronology, Lime Salted Love puts the viewer through its paces as each character's mask is peeled away to reveal the guilt and regrets that drive them into willful self-abandonment. Like people in an Eric Rohmer film, the characters recognize the possible hurtful consequences of their actions yet fully cognizant of them, push forward and accept them as a price to pay for numbing their pain. While the story itself is loosely anchored by the brothers and their shared past guilt, the emotional core is entirely stolen by Agnello and Loken's performances.Wearing her emotions on her sleeve, Agnello radiates brokenness like a cracked porcelain doll. If one were to find an equivalent in recent film to match it, Jennifer Connelly's performance in House of Sand and Fog would work well. Speaking in a perpetual slur, Agnello forces the viewer to understand the loneliness that exists within Ellie, the sort of empty shell that desires to be filled by any means necessary. While her relationship with Chase is yet another example of running away, Zephyr provides Ellie for the first time with something to run to.Well known for her work in Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines and successful television show Painkiller Jane, Kristanna Loken flips the artistic coin and reveals an emotional intimacy rarely glimpsed while maintaining a wonderful inner poise and strength. Plagued by her own childhood demons, Zephyr is a woman who connects with Ellie because her innate innocence hearkens back to Zephyr's own youth and in particular, her younger sister. Essentially playing out the role of protector, Zephyr's bond with Ellie gradually evolves from big sister/little sister to a deeper emotional level as they recognize the longing within one another and need for untainted love. In the end, the filmmakers and cast serve up a smoldering cauldron of emotions that is hard to avoid; speaking to the sheer human need for connection Lime Salted Love forces the viewer to acknowledge the all too real dread of absolute loneliness.For contact info and more information on Lime Salted Love, go to: http://www.limesaltedlovefilm.com Lime Salted Love
