Thoughts on Marvelous and the Black Hole

     On Tubi, I watched the 2021 coming of age drama Marvelous and the Black Hole, written and directed by Kate Tsang. The film stars Miya Cech as Sammy Ko, a teen girl whose mother has recently passed away, and is struggling with her grief and anger, acting out at school and getting into fights and failing classes. She is in danger of being expelled, therapy hasn't helped her, and her father Angus (Leonardo Nam) places her in a community college business class, telling her if she fails the class he will send her away to a reformatory summer camp. Her father treats her like the problem child, letting her sister bully her to be "in charge," and is dating a new woman, who Sammy resents.

    Sammy takes the business course, but isn't interested in it, and ends up meeting in passing an eccentric and salty old woman named Margot (Rhea Perlman), who is a children's magician, and tells folk tales to children using magic, like sleight of hand tricks and making her rabbit appear out of thin air. Sammy is initially resistant to Margot trying to help her, but after she decides to focus on magic for her business course project, she befriends Margot, finding calm and focus in learning how to do sleight of hand magic. Margot also allows Sammy a way to let out her anger and frustrations, like screaming into a pillow, and redirecting her fantasies, like when Sammy imagines murdering her father's girlfriend in a "saw a woman in half" trick and Margot gently tells her not to think about murder as her emotional outlet.

    I really liked this movie a lot. Miya Cech was great in playing Sammy, a girl who feels trapped by her family suppressing her and their emotions, blaming her for getting angry, and refusing to really listen to her. Her father keeps threatening to punish her and take her freedoms away, or sending her away to therapy and classes to have other people manage her or keep her busy while he focuses on his future with his new girlfriend. Only when the family is able to acknowledge their own grief and anger do they drop the formalities with one another, and they can truly accept the mother's death while not forgetting about her.

    The film is intercut with animation, from Tsang's animation background, and it really suits the film well, like when Sammy is telling a fantasy story with her mother as the heroine, and illustrating what is going on inside of Sammy's head.

    Rhea Perlman is wonderful in this film as Margot, an artistic and interesting woman with her own family trauma, and choosing to see joy and light in the world, and bring happiness to children through her use of storytelling and magic. She and Cech really work well together with their oddball friendship and bonding, and it made the film very charming and unique to watch.