I kept thinking this movie shouldn’t work. It’s about desperate people who scrap the bones of their desperate town’s industrial corpse. It spends a fair amount of time focusing on the job of legally (and otherwise) taking apart the ruins of the rust belt. But the film is the kind of proof we need that any plot, any premise, any character can be great if the story is told well.

Holler stars Jessica Barden (an actress I wasn’t familiar with but certainly am now) as a teenage girl who wants to go to college. But her economic situation, including a parent in jail, a failing town, and a school that doesn’t support her, makes it difficult. She and her brother get work as scrappers to make ends meet.

And that’s the film… a simple coming-of-age drama that wallows in depression, both mental and physical. I was engrossed by the film, partly because Barden and her character is so damn good. But also due to smart, assured very down-to-earth film-making. You get the sense there’s something very personal about this film to the director.

To be fair (or unfair, as the case may be), I kind of lost focus in the final act when some of the bigger dramatic moments were taking place. It’s weird to say, but when it was more about the daily life of downtrodden sadness, I was more into the film. But it wasn’t enough to hurt the movie excessively.

This is a good film if you want a slower paced drama about one girl’s hopes and dreams. I’m sure it’s not for everyone, but I’m also sure that if you’re considering watching it, you probably already know whether or not it can possibly work for you. And if you think it will, I think you’ll like it.

Score: 80