Sundance 2022: 20 Films You Need To Know About

17. Palm Trees & Power Lines

Adapted from Jamie Dack's 2018 short film of the same name, Palm Trees and Power Lines follows disaffected, alienated 17-year-old Lea (Lily McInerny) as she embarks on a relationship with Tom (Jonathan Tucker), a man double her age.

Similarly to the recent Red Rocket, Dack's film explores the emotional brutality of its uneven central power dynamic, of a man exerting his influence over his much younger partner in increasingly disturbing ways.

Unfolding largely from Lea's perspective and devastatingly exploring the means through which a predator can cut a person off from their other support avenues, Palm Trees and Power Lines is a drama as perceptive as it is tough to watch.

Newcomer Lily McInerny gives an outstanding performance - one of the fest's best, even - as Lea, in a drama that's unafraid to commit to the full discomforting truth of its premise.