John Cho and Haley Lu Richardson in Columbus Photo by Elisha Christian

Columbus, a quiet indie full of wonders

Columbus stars Haley Lu Richardson as Casey, a young woman of about 19 who lives in Columbus, Indiana and who is enthralled by the famous architecture her home town is famous for.

Columbus features an unusual friendship and some unusual buildings. Writer and director Kogonada devoted almost as much detailed attention to the town’s well known buildings and byways as he did to the actors. It made for a beautiful, contemplative film, composed with care.

Did you know that Columbus, Indiana is home to several famous Modernist buildings including the First Christian Church by Eliel Saarinen, the Irwin Union Bank, Miller House, and North Christian Church by Eliel’s son Eero Saarinen, and the Cleo Rogers Memorial Library by I. M. Pei? It’s a mecca for architects and lectures and conferences with well know architects. I did not know that.

Casey works in the library. She had her co-worker Gabriel (Rory Culkin) have long conversations about books and intellectual ideas. Casey should be in college but she decided to stay home and keep an eye on her mother (Michelle Forbes), who is a recovering meth addict.

Haley Lu Richardson in Columbus

Casey’s nightly entertainment is to sit on the hood of her car and stare at the buildings that so move her.

She strikes up a conversation with Jin (John Cho). He is in town because his famous architect father is in the hospital in a coma. Jin had rejected all conversation about architecture in his life because of his rocky relationship with his father. But somehow this unlikely pair become friends.

John Cho and Haley Lu Richardson in Columbus

Casey takes Jin to all her favorite buildings. She knows everything about them in terms of facts. Jin presses her to talk about why they move her, what they evoke in her. He ends up talking about architecture after all.

Eleanor (Parker Posey) works with Jin’s father and has known Jin for years. She insists he stay in Columbus until his father either recovers or dies.

The dialog between these characters is a little awkward and not fully fleshed out. Many details about what they are doing are left out. The film is often quiet while the camera just looks at places again and again. No detail of design is too small to evade the eye of the camera.

Jin and Eleanor both encourage Casey to continue her education – even study architecture – and stop being a caretaker for her mom. Not until she discovers that her mom is lying to her about something does she agree to move ahead with her life. When Casey leaves Columbus, the story is over.

Haley Lu Richardson did a beautiful job with this role. Everyone did, actually, but I appreciated her performance for its open and natural vibe. The chemistry between Richardson and John Cho was excellent. It wasn’t a romance. He was more like a mentor for her.

You can see this lovely indie from 2017 on Tubi.

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