Dandelion review: a struggling musician finds new inspiration

Dandelion stars KiKi Layne as Dandelion, a 30-something woman from a low income background who dreams of making music for a living. She’s performing in a place where no one listens to the singer when she takes a bold and crazy step that changes everything.

Dandelion is the second film in a planned trilogy from writer and director Nicole Riegel. In an interesting interview at Eye for Film, Riegel gives some background on the trilogy. She said, “I wanted to chart the desires and dreams of three different women from lower income backgrounds and how class affects their dreams and desires, but through very different lived experiences.”

The bartender where Dandelion works tells her about a biker rally in South Dakota where there is an opportunity to perform and win a chance to open for a known band. Dandelion dismisses the idea – bikers are definitely not her audience.

Dandelion lives with her ailing mom (Melanie Nicholls-King). When they have an argument, Dandelion impulsively sets off for South Dakota with her guitar.

Just the sight of the skinny, vulnerable Black woman making her way through crowds of burly white bikers in their Harley Davidson jackets gave me nervous palpitations. I thought she really put herself in danger. Nobody hurt her, but the visual was so striking.

She got up to sing and some guy ran off with her guitar case.

Casey (Thomas Doherty) found her a bit later and returned her guitar case. He was friendly, he helped her navigate the scene there. He introduced her to people. He had a big RV where he invited her to stay. He took her all over South Dakota (the scenery was spectacular) and wrote a song with her. He brought her up to microphone to perform with his group and sing a song she wrote.

Of course, she fell for him.

I thought the chemistry between them was powerful. Their intimate scenes were beautifully shot with extreme close ups of hands, arms, ears, lips. It was sensuous and sexy.

Then reality stepped in. Dandelion was broken hearted at first but she used the pain and energy of what she’d experienced to pour it all into her music and step up into performing back home in Cincinnati.

There were reflections on how social media affects music now, and how streaming music affects musicians.

The film ended on a hopeful note. The message for me was that doing something bold, crazy, and against all cultural norms for who you are supposed to be can pay off if you have the courage.

Here’s the trailer. The film is streaming on AMC+ or can be watched through Amazon Video channels ALLBLK or AMC+. Or you can rent it for a few dollars on Prime Video.