Budget isn't everything. It's often an important factor in a movie's success, and vital to obtain some amount of respect as an actual movie in the minds of most. But in some cases, a lack of budget just isn't that big of a deal, as the story is so dominant over all other aspects. At that point, it comes down to adding stuff just for the sake of adding stuff. Today, we're going to talk about one of those movies that has such a compelling storyline, that one may not even notice that they're watching a movie that looks as if it cost about 15 bucks to make. Today, we're going to talk about The Strange Vengeance Of Rosalie. Micro-budget filmmaking at its finest.
I really dig desert movies. That's where this movie takes place. Actually, the New Mexico Desert is where it takes place. However, the Spanish desert is where it was filmed. Just throwing out this unusual fact which I feel adds to the movie's mystique. So, Rosalie is supposed to be about 16 or 17, I'm guessing. No parents, grandpa just kicked the bucket. Rosalie is all alone, piss poor, uneducated and stuck in this desert shack with a bunch of chickens, which seems to be the only place she's ever seen. Rosalie doesn't have much going for her, these days. But she does have enough sense to realize she'd be a lot better off with a man. So, tricking one into coming out there and forcing him to stay forever seems to be where her head is at. And a messed up head, it is. Rosalie has some problems. One of which being that she doesn't seem to get the concept of right and wrong. She wants what she wants, and what she wants is the only right she knows. Rosalie is not so much selfish as she's just plain primitive.
So, this guy, Virgil, passing through a New Mexico highway, on his way to a much needed Hawaiian vacation, makes his first mistake. Virgil picks up a hitchhiker. A harmless looking teenager named Rosalie, who is using a potato sack for a dress. Rosalie claims she's from Chicago, visiting her grandpa who lives way out in the desert. She manages to guilt trip the good natured Virgil into taking her the entire way, but once they get there, no grandpa. Just s shack in the middle of pitch black nowhere. Virgil figures it's ok to take off since Rosalie is confident that grandpa will return shortly, but she seriously does not want him to leave. Serious enough to poke out one of his tires, pretty much blowing Virgil's chances of making his flight. Virgil sleeps in his car that night with the intention of deciding what to do the next morning. He doesn't get to decide shit, however, because Rosalie breaks his leg once he gets out of line. Rosalie is also a bit of a psycho.
Not a full fledged psycho, really. She's pretty pleasant as long as she always gets what she wants and is never annoyed. She seems to have enough good in her for Virgil to be able to convince her to get him a doctor. But first, he has to convince her that a broken leg is indeed a reason to need a doctor. And she doesn't seem to realize this, or really much of anything. Rosalie is very much in her own little world, and what's important to her is all that there is. And what's important to her is not being lonely. She agrees to go fetch a doctor as Virgil hands her some money for groceries, but she comes back solo, as we suspected she would. As Virgil tries and tries to convince Rosalie that #1, keeping him there forever is unrealistic, and #2, he needs a doctor or he could lose his leg, we are given examples of how frustrating it can be to deal with someone with such little sense. She's seemingly too dumb to outsmart, but manages to smarten up quick at the most inconvenient of times.Virgil makes the mistake of appearing too friendly, which is very much misunderstood, leading to Rosalie assuming that they're going to get hitched. There's some gold buried with grandpa, and a greedy, unwanted third party who shows up, complicating things further. Virgil doesn't want any gold, and he sure as hell doesn't want to get hitched to the kid who just broke his leg. All he wants is to get away from this place and get his leg checked out. And the closer he gets to his freedom, the further away it all seems.
This is by far the best example of isolation that I've seen in a movie. Poor Virgil might as well be on the moon, as he's going nowhere with that broken leg. We don't ever really learn anything about Virgil, and all we think we know about Rosalie is what she tells him. Just like this tiny cast is isolated from the world, we the viewer are equally isolated from the knowledge of what is actually going on. At times, it seems Virgil is sincere when insisting they can run off together after Rosalie gets him a doctor. An unlikely scenario, but we're never given confirmation on anything. Especially what's going on in Rosalie's head. All the confusion finally culminates in a twist ending which compliments this story very nicely.
For those who are willing to dig a little deeper for the quality cinema so many others have missed out on, this overlooked little gem should brighten your day. And for any fans of Misery, you might see some similarities which may or may not have been borrowed from Rosalie. Either way, I think this one could use a little more recognition as the damn good movie that it became, despite the non existent budget it had to work with. In fact, I'm a little surprised a company better than Sinister Cinema hasn't snatched this one up and put out a decent release with some interviews or audio commentary, telling the story of this unique but overlooked desert Thriller. The Strange Vengeance Of Rosalie deserves a fanbase. 9/10
#Review