Kajillionaire (2020)

Petty crime runs in the family, so when an attractive outsider joins them, everything goes.

Can something be funny and depressing at the same time? I was about to say something other than Kajillionaire, which is funny and depressing at the same time, but it is not really funny. Or, is it? I am not entirely convinced how or if it was meant to be funny, but I didn’t get it. In a way, and don’t quote me on that, it felt like it was borderline mocking mental illness. And whatever that was, the whole family had it!

Once that was established, it just dragged. I think in an attempt to switch genre? Or, maybe, in an attempt for the audience to experience Old Dolio having a change of heart? Whatever the reason, Kajillionaire fails to find meaning but, ultimately, piles up all the eccentricity it can get. For a crime/drama – as per IMDb anyway – the plot is less believable than Independence Day (1996). Other than the family’s mental state, there is no chance on Earth a girl like Melanie would leave the plane with such people and go along with their plans. Yes, she seemed to have a dead-end job and no friends or girlfriend, but personally, I don’t know anyone who would leave that plane with them. But then, nothing really makes sense in the film, so I think that trying to rationalise surrealistic characters and situations is the wrong approach. Which begs the question, what is the right one?

Writer/Director Miranda July is a magnificent indie filmmaker. Still, I cannot understand how she approached so many producers, among others Brad Pitt, and A-List actors such as Richard Jenkins, Debra Winger, Evan Rachael Wood, and Gina Rodriguez and got them board. What was the selling point? For the actors, I guess it is to try something different that not too many people will watch and be as awkward as they want. For the producers? They know they will lose whatever penny they put in, and they still do it. And the recognition is next to nothing.

Maybe it’s just me not getting it, and you find it far better than I think. I didn’t know how to feel throughout the whole film, even though all I wanted was for Old Dolio and Melanie to find the love they deserved. And that is, at least, the film’s payoff.

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