Kiernan Shipka plays a girl torn between caring for her neurodivergent parents and figuring out her future in the trailer for “Wildflower.”
From Momentum Pictures, the film follows Bea (Shipka), a high school girl on the cusp of graduation. Balancing work, school and looking out for her parents Derek (Dash Mihok) and Sharon (Samantha Hyde) has forced Bea to grow up quickly, a point of tension with members of her extended family.
As shown in the trailer, her parents fell in love at a young age before marrying and giving birth to Bea (full name: Bambi). Their families (played by the likes of Jean Smart, Jacki Weaver, Brad Garrett, Reid Scott, Erika Alexander, and Alexandra Daddario) worry about whether or not they can take care of a child.
“What choice do we have?” asks Weaver’s character.
Snippets of Bea’s happy non-traditional childhood follow: learning to drive (illegally) at age 10, cashing disability checks and more. With graduation on the horizon, Bea’s guidance counselor pressures her to apply to college as she struggles with the idea of leaving. Meanwhile, she begins a romantic relationship with a boy from her school (Charlie Plummer) who joins the chorus of voices encouraging her to strike out on her own.
“Maybe because you do everything for them, you’ve convinced yourself that they’re helpless,” he tells her in one scene.
Inspired by true events, “Wildflower” is written by Jana Savage and directed by Matt Smukler. The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival last September. TheWrap’s review called the coming-of-age drama “one of a kind,” praising the script’s “clever dialogue” and Shipka’s “superstar” performance.
“Wildflower” premieres in theaters March 17 and on VOD March 21.
Check out the trailer above.
