Henry Nelson makes an impressive directorial debut with Asleep in My Palm. The film (which he also wrote) stars Nelson’s real-life father, Tim Blake Nelson, who is playing the down-on-his-luck father of a 16-year-old daughter (Chloë Kerwin) living off the grid on the outskirts of a liberal arts college town in Ohio. The film tackles many topics as it weaves its narrative, soaked in a melancholic tone capable of easily pulling audiences in.
The opening sequence has Tim Blake Nelson telling his version of Chicken Little as essentially a bedtime story to his daughter. She’s rapt with attention as he sprinkles obscenities into a very familiar tale. While this whole recitation is compelling, it’s the philosophical discussion that follows that makes the scene and sets up a central thread for the film’s story. Nelson’s character explains that Chicken Little takes immense joy as the sky is falling, because no one believed him, and made his life hell for all these years. Kerwin asks several follow-up questions challenging the ending, such as something along the lines of “How does he know the sky was falling for sure the first time, and that it’s not just a coincidence that it fell later?”
From there, we learn about her father’s “job”, where he steals bicycles and sells them with the help of his “friend”, Jose. There are tons of scenes of them waxing philosophical, which works to sell the ideas of the film. Tim Blake Nelson owns every moment he is on screen, and it reminds the audience of how much of a talent he truly is. Kerwin gets some great moments later in the film, and is impressive alongside Nelson. It is a strong debut and one that hopefully translates to her getting into more movies.
The film’s tone, look, and score are all essential to the story being told. It feels cold as they move around snowy Ohio. There is a sense of paranoia and fear that permeates constantly, but it’s purposely undercut by love. You can tell that Nelson’s character has a troubled past, but the relationship with his daughter gives him purpose. Each of these elements helps to make the ending of the film an impactful one. The film is also full of moments that make you tense up, only to be relieved moments later when Henry Nelson’s script doesn’t do what so many other films would have done. These aren’t simply pointless supervision of tropes, as they are building to a bigger moment.
It feels like an understatement to say that this is an impressive debut. The film stuck with me when it ended. I was locked in from the second I heard Tim Blake Nelson speaking and realized that we were getting a monologue right out of the gate. Asleep in my Palm does a tremendous job of guiding the audience into their world, and methodically peeling back the layers to reveal everything we need to know. Sometimes, movies such as this remind us why we love them so much in the first place.
Asleep in My Palm will be in select theaters starting 3/1, VOD on 3/19, and streaming on 4/19.
Rating: Must See
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