Future Weather

Future Weather is a 2012 American drama film that succeeds in masterfully weaving together themes of environmentalism, womanhood, and coming-of-age in a strikingly beautiful, heartrending, yet uplifting narrative. Directed by Jenny Deller with an outstanding cast including the young Perla Haney-Jardine, prolific actress Lili Taylor, and the seasoned Amy Madigan, the film eloquently speaks the language of resilience, hope, and self-discovery.

The film centers around thirteen-year-old Lauduree, played impressively by Perla Haney-Jardine, a mature and fiercely independent young girl, whose scientific inquiry into the climate change crisply mirrors her personal upheaval. Lauduree’s passion for science and the environment in many ways acts as a coping and survival mechanism in a world that seems to be repeatedly abandoning her.

With poise and dexterity that outstrips her age, Lauduree looks after her home, thwarting the chaos left behind by her flighty, single mother Tanya (Marin Ireland). After her mother, with her dreams of a singer-songwriter career, suddenly leaves to pursue possibilities in California, Lauduree is left alone, stubbornly trying to maintain a sense of normalcy by sticking to her daily schedule attending school and conducting climate experiments.

Lauduree’s world is beautifully detailed, letting us in on the urgency and seriousness of her endeavor cresting from her deep concern about our planet's future weather in the backdrop of her unsettling personal life. She urges her Science teacher Ms. Markovi (Lili Taylor) to form a club to contemplate on the climate crisis. Ms. Markovi, herself grappling with her weighty emotional baggage, becomes an unwitting mentor and a beacon of stability in Lauduree’s turbulent world.

After her grandmother Greta (Amy Madigan) learns about Lauduree’s precarious situation, Greta strives to assume guardianship of her granddaughter. The relationship between Lauduree and Greta is a crucial pivot in the movie, as it is strained, often distanced, and yet there is evident love. Lauduree rebels against living under Greta’s care, keeping her climate studies a secret fearing her grandmother's pragmatic and dismissive attitude. The narrative weaves together the threads of these female characters - each grappling independently with their circumstances, each lost and found in their own trajectories of life.

The choice of the movie’s setting in rural Illinois complements the narrative, crafting a symbiotic relationship between the characters and their environment. Haney-Jardine’s factorial acting straddles the line between a terrified kid and an aspiring climate scientist with remarkable credibility and leaves a lasting impression.

Amy Madigan, known for her riveting performances, delivers an extraordinary depiction of Greta. She might be a hard-nosed, tough-talking woman on the outside, but Madigan peels back her layers, revealing her weakness, her regrets, her suppressed dreams, and her tender love for her family. Similarly, Lili Taylor as Ms. Markovi breezes through her role exhibiting various shades of a woman trying to strike a balance between her personal and professional life, thus leaving an indelible mark on the viewers' hearts.

Jenny Deller’s ‘Future Weather’ is an emotionally resonant movie that uses the metaphor of climate change brilliantly to depict a young girl’s fight against personal abandonment. It smartly presents the rumination on female relationships, struggles, resilience, and growing up. Lauduree’s journey and personal growth are guided by her independent spirit and devotion to science, serving a bite-sized inspiration to young girls watching the film.

The film astutely captures the environmental concerns mirroring Lauduree's personal upheavals in the backdrop of a dazzling, rustic setting. The performances by the lead actors are nothing short of a tour de force, and Deller’s direction lends celerity to the narrative. 'Future Weather' is in many ways a cinematic poem to womanhood and survival – a poignantly moving portrait of nurturing hope against the odds. For anyone seeking an introspective, emotive drama about strength and survival, Future Weather is a worthwhile watch.