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...read more of this review
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