while more specificity may have made the characters more memorable, Nicole Riegel's visual talent, Jessica Barden's quiet, internalized turn, and feel for her setting make "Holler" worth seeking out
using her own life as an inspiration, writer-director Nicole Riegel skillfully crafts a portrait of a teen girl trying to escape poverty without abandoning her family
the director has a secret weapon in Jessica Barden, who makes Ruth's story relatable, even to those who've been fortunate enough to avoid such hardship
Riegel's quiet confidence in constructing a tale of politics, poverty, and girlhood is extraordinary; With this, she builds a film that is heart-rattlingly poignant, haunting, and among the best of the year
Jessica Barden's central performance is as tough and honest as the film calls for, and even if a closing riff feels slightly borrowed from "Good Will Hunting", "Holler" is a solid entry in the Midwest Desolation canon
it's sometimes more generic than it is specific, despite Riegel's commitment to realism; aside from the scraggly forests and ominous smokestacks that Nicole Riegel films in gorgeous, grainy 16mm there's not much that's memorable about this story
it all feels honest and real, but it's never depressing, just credible and absorbing as a result; “Holler” may mark Riegel's feature debut and the latest of Barden's impressive leading roles, but they make for a pair worth shouting about
for all the scenes of desperate people doing desperate things in order to stave off literal starvation while working dead-end or downright criminal jobs, Riegel somehow manages to imply short, sharp shock of actual hope by film's end
"Holler" shows there is beauty everywhere-if you choose to look for it. It also shows the power of independent filmmaking to tell incredible stories on sheer will and desire to tell stories
by Tara McNamara [Common Sense Media ]
by Marc Savlov [Austin Chronicle ]
