Geremy Jasper’s “O’Dessa” is a worrying case of misplaced sincerity, a rock musical which Jasper claims to have worked on for seven years, claiming, in his SXSW speech, that it was a labor of love. Still, apprehending it is another matter altogether as it has the overarching impression of something that was sketched up in one’s high school days and perhaps even younger. Picture a novel authored by George Miller, O’Dessa will not pull any punches when it comes to offering you a glimpse under the hood of the characters, building out its world, or, god forbid, offer you a single catchy tune. To put it succinctly: There are no major plans, and I dare say, I admire Jasper and his gang for sticking with their guns through and through. But it sure makes it diabolically exasperating for everyone else. I can only imagine how difficult it must have been for them to break out of the fictional world they built and the characters they were so fond of for years, suffocating viewers with love instead. Having experienced the cynicism of today’s world, thinking about how Jasper and Co. surely absolutely love the world they built for their project is mentally soothing, absolutely adorable. The truth is: They absolutely, and I do not at all.
Sadie Sink serves as the titular character of a young woman living in a world whose nature is violent and lackadaisical and is reminiscent of “Mad Max” or “Repo! The Genetic Opera” (although never as three-dimensional). O’Dessa’s father was a “rambler,” which is an individual who roams the land with his enchanted guitar, using songs to soothe the troubled and create turmoil for the calm. The guitar returned to O’Dessa after his death. After her mother died, O’Dessa set off to NOT fulfill a prophecy. She is the seventh son who is a troubadour, a type of singer who brings hope to the people living in the dystopia to create a better tomorrow. That one attribute was supposed to be her entire character. She is a classic example of a Mary Sue, and there is no attempt at crafting beyond that, which results in no personality.
Before long, a band of nomads (led by Mark Boone Junior) steals O’Dessa’s guitar, which leads her to the city to get it back. She gets tangled up with a cruel enforcer named Neon Dion (a wasted Regina Hall, with a bit of Tina Turner’s Aunty Entity flair in her outfits and speech patterns), who manages a theatre featuring a stunning vocalist, Euri Dervish (Kelvin Harrison Jr.). At this point, “O’Dessa” begins to lose coherence. Who exactly is Euri, a star, a puppet? What is so difficult to understand about which words he is singing? Not much, really. He is just another instrument in the dramatic irony symphony orchestrated by O’Dessa’s romance. Their love is devoid of substance. I won’t point fingers at the performers, but it must be impossible to create chemistry among people given such poor material to work with.
The messaging and the argument of O’Dessa is simplistic. The songs O’Dessa sings to catalyse the revolution are nonsensical tunes about love and freedom, the two concepts that the film fails to define and portray. One of the most frequently sung phrases is “Free, free, free, free,” while another is “Love is all you need,” but one sure does need more than just love. These simplistic messages that are heartfelt do not resonate with the viewer, but for a musical to deliver such an emotional response, deeper character, world-building, stakes, etc. are needed. There is nothing here that strikes vital emotion; everything is plain.
The film “O’Dessa” looks low budget, and due to that, it suffers visually. Its main influence appears to be “Max Headroom”, and that can be seen in the plot development of a television show featuring a dispassionate entertainer-turned-president, Plutonovich. Today, a reality star-turned-dictator could be predictable, but they are quite literally caricatured in “O’Dessa”. Unfortunately, even that is squandered in a diabolically naïve script full of pseudo-philosophical ramblings about love and freedom. I know the big, famous musicals out there had the freedom of love as the central focus, but it is pulling that off that this movie will never have, which is a heartbeat.
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