"Strummer" Movie Review

Finding someone to love can be just as hard as finding your life's passion. Sometimes the two can be intertwined without us knowing it. Strummer does a good job at displaying just how true to life the two sides of passion can be, and anyone watching will find at least some relatability to either the characters or the subject matter.

Strummer follows Travis, a man in his mid-20s who spends his days hooking up with women from a dating app. Most of them are just one-night stands, but then he meets Daphne. Daphne has a gift, or a curse depending on how you want to look at it. Lyrics pop into her head and she has to write them down to get them out of her head. When Travis discovers this, he wants to put music to them and make songs out of them. Daphne at first is against it but warms up to the idea after a while. As Travis falls for her, Daphne falls for the music. But is that enough for the two of them or will their relationship crumble?

The positives of the film far outweigh the negatives. The story and the acting were top-notch, drawing in the viewer and making you really feel sympathy, empathy, and anger all at once. There were times when I wanted to shake Travis and ask why he was putting up with Daphne in the first place. Then I stopped and realized I've done the exact same thing in my own life. See? Relatability.

Director Cody Clarke has had a pretty good record with his films, pumping out greats such as Ramekin, Mute Date, and Bed. While Strummer doesn't quite hit the mark that those three set, it's still a worthy and admirable selection. In fact, my only negative comment is that the writing could be a bit grandiose at times. Since Clarke wrote and starred in the film, some of the dialogue felt like he was taking a few moments to brag on himself. Maybe that's just my take away and not at all what was even intended. Check out the film for yourself and tell me what you think.

In conclusion, I enjoyed Strummer and absolutely recommend it to anyone out there needing something to remind them that cinema is still alive and well and is still inspiring despite the world's current state. Mr. Clarke has even graciously put his film on youtube for free because of the Coronavirus keeping people at home. Have a seat and enjoy! I give the film a 3.5 out of 4.