Title: No Right Way
MPA Rating: Not Yet Rated
Director: Chelsea Bo
Starring: Chelsea Bo, Ava Acres, Eliza Coupe
Runtime: 1hr 43 mins

What It Is: Georgie, a brazen tween, is thrust into the guardianship of her half-sister Harper whose attempts to parent only lead to exposing their paralleled childhood wounds.

What We Think: This is a terrific debut from Chelsea Bo, whom being the writer, director, editor and star of this film uses all of her skills to the best of her ability, telling an incredibly heartfelt story of reconnecting with one’s family from two different perspectives. The screenplay is excellent, with dialogue that feels like it could have been taken from lost recordings of a broken family, now meticulously arranged into a hopeful passage of mending said family back together. The care Bo shows for these characters is rare, unlike filmmakers who tend to stick to melodramatic odes made up to form a preconceived window into what one thinks may happen behind closed doors; no, there is a strong sentiment at the core of No Right Way that will draw you in no matter what side of the family you are on.

These perspectives are shown through outstanding performances from the entire cast. Bo does a great job herself, but I was surprised by the amount of depth the rest of the cast brought to their characters, especially with young Ava Acres who is likeable and sympathetic in her role, carrying the weight of some very emotional scenes tremendously. With the excellent direction and well-paced editing (another accomplishment of director Bo) there is a steady pace, never slowing to a grinding halt. Once the credits started rolling, I had a passing thought – if this film had gotten the same amount of publicity of a say, Napoleon or Barbie, it would certainly be one of the surprise hits of the year. I am going to regard it as such.

Our Grade: A; Marking the directorial debut for Chelsea Bo, No Right Way presents well-written characters with captivating dynamics in a family drama that has its share of laughs and solemn sighs. If you get the chance, check this one out when it gets a wider release – its one of those independent wildcards you seldom get to see.