Rell “Goat” Anderson (Shaylea Martin) is a thirteen-year-old surfer chick obsessed with becoming a great surfer although her summer of 2003 trailer park life in Penticton, British Columbia’s beautiful Okanagan is not progressing well for her. Goat has the look, the garb and attitude of a skateboarder a la Avril Lavigne’s “Skater Boy”. One problem though is that Penticton is 700 kilometers from the ocean. Her Joanna Andrade dreams cannot be realized without surf.
Goat takes what she wants and that includes shoplifting like her mother Jane (Caitlyn Sponheimer) and break and entering. She says and does what she wants. A rather negative influence on buddy Nate a fellow trailer park resident. Sucked down in a negative spiral at the beginning of adolescence rarely leads to positive results. Tack on a deceased “surfer dude” father and a frequently absent mother working two jobs to survive.
Goat can either “wise up” or be pushed down by the massive wave of life. She has a few moments of advice from surfer champions of yesteryear who allegorize surfing lessons with life lessons brilliantly accompanied by churchlike organ music as are certain revelatory moments in her life portrayed in the film.
Goat is not a bad person but perhaps “misguided” and quasi-abandoned by her mother?
Will Goat ever reach the surf and a chance for her dreams or is she destined to eternally bleat about her less than idyllic existence?
An interesting take on maturing and could it be the rathole of obsession or a lifeline to sanity? Enjoy “Beautiful British Columbia” scenery captured admirably in cinematography. Child actors can be horrific but Martin delivers a strong performance as does Sponheimer as her somewhat imperfect but loving mother.
The director is Caitlyn Sponheimer.
The film is in theatres in British Columbia now and in Toronto commencing 10May2024.
RKS 2024 Film Rating: 84/100.
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