All Roads to Pearla Review: A Beautiful and Tense Texas Noir

Release date: September 25, 2020
Running time: 108 minutes
Starring: Addison Timlin, Corin Nemec, Dash Mihok, Alex MacNicoll

A Texas town awakes when Brandon (MacNicoll) a high school wrestler gets entangled with a drifter named Pearla (Timlin) and her psychopathic lover Oz (Mihok).  Lives then intertwine and spiral violently out of control once he becomes her escort driver.  The two outcasts form a quick friendship, but the danger lurking around them closes in as they try to leave this small town.

All Roads Lead to Perla is an understated movie.  There are a lot of very small touches throughout that really help to contribute to the overall feel of this film.  First off, the cinematography is breathtaking.  As expected from a director who has a history in photography, the shots are framed perfectly and composed with absolute care.  There are a lot of small touches about the Texas landscape that shine through and really draw your eye to the natural beauty.  Even seemingly mundane shots are so well composed that they look stunning.  There is an early scene showcasing just a standard grocery store, but the lighting and sun shining above it make this seemingly mundane scene pop.  Another small touch is the absolutely beautiful music, which really helps to augment the dramatic scenes.  It is never overpowering and it softly starts up, but it is really touching and helps to push the audience's emotional buttons.  

The cast of All Roads to Pearla do a great job telling this multifaceted story.  Although there are several great performances in this film, Timlin definitely commands the viewer's attention with her portrayal of Pearla.  Pearla is a complicated character with many different layers: she is at times a bubbly friend with hopes and dreams, sometimes she is a defiant woman who is standing up against the forces against her, and other times she is a broken shell.  Timlin portrays all of these personas perfectly and breathes life into this character with her dramatic prowess.  That is not to say that the other actors are not standouts, and in particular Alex MacNicoll does a great job as a conflicted wrestler trying to leave his small town and dealing with far more than a high school kid should.  But Timlin outshines them all and in this case, all roads and all eyes lead to Pearla.

As with any good Noir film, the story in All Roads to Pearla has several intertwining and connected threads that wind together.  It is really an interesting contrast, seeing the lives of "normal" high school kids mixed with the complicated and dark world of this underground.  This is made even more stark by the small town aspect, where everyone knows everything but often don't talk about it.  But this does provide a great platform for showcasing a kid dealing with far more than he should, and a woman with dreams that were prematurely squashed trying to fight to get them back.  If there is a negative with this film, it is that the story leaves some things unsaid.  There are certain threads that are left up to the audience to connect so you sometimes don't know exactly what occurred.  And although the sound and music are generally very good, the film has a weak sounding gun.  However, don't let those dissuade you from seeing this dramatic, understated, and beautiful film.

All Roads to Pearla is a beautiful noir film fueled by Timlin's powerful, dramatic performance, beautiful cinematography and music, and a complicated story.

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Also make sure to check out our interviews with Addison Timlin (who plays Pearla) and director / writer / producer Van Ditthavong!