CS Weekly Archive > Weekend Read > 09/14/07

There's Gold in Them There Hills

By peter clines

King of California

Mike Cahill (also directed)

Miranda (Evan Rachel Wood) is an abandoned teenager who's let herself slip through the cracks, leading a glum but stable life until the day her quirky and manic-depressive father Charlie (Michael Douglas) returns home. He wants her to help him track down a cache of Spanish missionary gold—a buried treasure he learned about while he was in a mental institution and now insists is hidden under their sprawling town of suburban developments, warehouse stores, and golf courses. King of California is one of those odd indie films that really shouldn't work; it's a mix of several genres with almost continuous voice-over and an often frustrating main character. Yet the script by first-time writer/director Mike Cahill walks a fine line with both Miranda and the audience, giving just enough evidence to believe this lost gold might be real while Charlie remains erratic enough for us to wonder how he could possibly be on the right trail. The result is a bizarre yet endearing family drama/comedy/treasure hunt/heist movie that may not be perfect, but certainly is exceptional.

King of California
First Look Studios
Rated PG-13; 93 min.

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Peter Clines has had a lifelong love affair with the movies. He grew up in New England, where he studied English literature and education, and now lives and writes somewhere in Southern California. If anyone knows exactly where, he would appreciate a few hints.

King of California courtesy First Look Studios

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