Ms. Purple

To live and die in LA between the palm trees. Gun Club’s Miami sleeve suggested the end of the road where alien vegetation meets Seuss-like desert as a prelude to the long wait of bereavement. Kasie (Tiffany Chu) has put her musical training aside to deal with her ailing, bedridden father who needs constant supervision. Once the hired caregiver quits, Kasie has no option but to reconcile with her brother, Carey (Teddy Lee) to help out but he’s more concerned with doing as he pleases. Working as a hostess in a karaoke club in Koreatown dealing nightly with the spunky drunks, it comes to us through flashbacks that her guilt stems from unfulfilled promises made by all around her. Director Justin Chon (Eric Yorkie in the Twilight movies) uses lighting and colors to diligently paint the strain of emotion that weighs upon a life on hold.

[NR]