The Current Cinema: “Sarah Q” (2018)

Writer-director John Gallagher’s “Sarah Q” explores the downside of youthful ambition as a young, happy small-town girl travels to the big city in pursuit of her dreams. Emmy James stars in the title role of Sarah Quintana, a young woman whose interest in an acting career takes her to New York City. While able to generate friendships and something of a support system, Sarah discovers that everything from acting classes to part time jobs hides an ugliness that continues to pummel her spirit. When she finally connects with an indie filmmaker, desperate for even a marginal engagement within her chosen craft, it turns out to be the most sordid experience of all.

Emmy James has the challenging job of maintaining the title character’s perseverance while also revealing her gradual disillusionment. She does an especially remarkable job in the role, presenting a natural no-frills beauty that isn’t satisfied with the superficial and desires some level of satisfying accomplishment. An actor’s most telling work comes from when he or she has no dialog, and is able to convey proper emotion with just a glance. Emmy has that in this role, exhibiting a relaxed and eager manner at first, but soon evolving into caution, confusion, and desperation.

Ms. James is surrounded by old pros who are able to easily define their respective roles. Not many actors can simultaneously convey toughness and vulnerability as effectively as Burt Young, who plays Sarah’s grandfather. He plays a man who is now comfortably settled in his small town, but is no stranger to the perils of the big city. His advice to Sarah is includes support of her need to pursue her dreams. Sally Kirkland plays a family friend of who runs a rooming house in New York and is Sarah’s initial big city contact. The family connection makes everything more stable, while Ms. Kirkland’s brilliant ability to carry the rhythm of every scene is quite evident. Her character has been hardened by her surroundings, but displays a softness with Sarah that extends further when, during a visit from grandpa, she and Young play a scene together. Each of them compliment the other and it is great to see these two Oscar nominees in top form.

Also welcome are the familiar faces of Tony Sirico and Vincent Pastore as a couple of retired cops who now fence stolen goods, and have incorporated Sarah into their activities. Being able to exhibit likeable personalities despite their characters’ illegal activities had been a mainstay on their classic HBO series “The Sopranos” and the talent of the actors easily carry that over to their roles in “Sarah Q.” Sarah needs a job, and making a few deliveries does not seem quite so unsettling in the big picture. Emmy James brilliant conveys Sarah’s being alternately creeped-out and bemused by her “employers.” It is notable that an impressive five former Sopranos actors are in this film, including Federico Castelluccio, William DeMeo, and Artie Pasquale in the cast.

But despite a lot of familiar faces and famous names doing some of their finest work, Emmy James manages to maintain her status as central to the narrative with a remarkably strong performance. Scenes like her gulping sobs in the shower after being drugged and seduced by a creepy filmmaker, and dissolving into tears as an acting teacher loudly browbeats her into stripping naked in front of the class, contrast with the comfort she finds among her likeminded peers, or her quiet, relaxed manner in the presence of the trusting landlady.

Actresses Ashlee Macropoulos, Tamara Skylar Jones, and Sarah Seeds are able to utilize their screen time by each establishing distinct characters while acting collectively as Sarah’s support system. Garry Pastore of HBO’s “The Deuce” is alternately amusing and maddening as the undercover cop who uses Sarah to get to the drug-dealing indie producer, forcing her to give up the ex-cop fencing operation in an attempt to disengage from all of this. Joseph D’Onofrio offers some welcome comic relief as a wisecracking dentist. Shing Ka nicely brackets the film at its beginning and end, with a standout performance.

Writer-director John Gallagher pulls out all of his vast knowledge of acting schools, struggles of young people in the big city, even his expertise on film history. The dialog is sharp and witty, the narrative is absorbing and compelling, and Gallagher’s visual sense as a director, his camera placement and succession of shots, is quite remarkable. For instance, the aforementioned scene of a defeated Sarah in the shower is only seconds long, but the director realizes that is the perfect amount of time to convey the character’s emotion and the ugliness of her situation.

One of the most creative and entertaining indie films of the modern era, “Sarah Q” is a film that features exceptional work from all involved. It is most highly recommended.