When I first saw the title, I immediately thought of Paddington’s favorite orange jam, but no, this one has nothing to do with the movie about a talking bear. The movie is written and directed by Aussie-American, actor-turned-director Keir O’Donnell (who I remember from The Dry) in his debut feature, and it’s based on his own original idea. I’m especially curious to check out this indie film because it’s filmed entirely in Minnesota! It’s made possible to be filmed here thanks to the new 25% state tax incentives, and I even recognized some of the extras and behind-the-scene talents listed on IMDb.

This is a movie best enjoyed when you know as little as possible about the story. All you need to know going in is it’s a romantic heist movie that follows a jailed man named Baron (Stranger Things’ breakout Joe Keery) who narrates a Bonnie and Clyde-esque tale to his cellmate, in the hope that he’d assist him to escape so he can reunite with the love of his life named Marmalade (Camila Morrone).

Baron’s cellmate Otis (Aldis Hodge) grows impatient with Baron’s constant zigzagging in his storytelling, and I have to admit I feel the same way in the way O’Donnell paces the film. While the first half feels a bit sluggish, thankfully the second half makes up for it and O’Donnell’s direction is quite lively during the heist scenes. It feels like a lucid dream at times, brimming with manic, feverish energy as Marmalade becomes more and more unhinged with each triumphant loot.

Keery is quite adept as the unreliable narrator of Baron’s crazy tale that kicks off as soon as pink-haired Marmalade enters his life. Before that, Baron is a down-on-his-luck small-town guy who’s taking care of his sickly mother. He can’t even keep his job at his post office, which is a huge problem as the price of his mom’s meds keeps going up.

The main trio cast is excellent. Keery is quite endearing in his wide-eyed, naive response to Marmalade’s nefarious schemes, while Morrone displays a sexy rock-star vibe as the Manic Pixie Dream Girl type who easily wraps Baron around her little finger. Hunky Hodge has such a strong leading-man screen presence, I’ve seen him in Hidden Figures and One Night in Miami and would love to see him in more leading roles.

While I didn’t see the main twist coming, the true identity of one particular character becomes increasingly predictable as the movie progresses. Still, a movie that manages to surprise you in a big way that makes you go ‘whoa!’ is quite a feat. O’Donnel has us going on a path but then sneakily flips the script on its head, even the title carries a certain meaning by the end of the movie. Though it seems that Marmalade is the kind of movies that glorify criminal acts as the characters go on a crime spree, there’s an unexpected underlying theme of benevolence that leaves a sweet aftertaste. That alone makes this film ever so watchable, and as a Minnesotan critic, it’s extra fun to see familiar locations and even recognize a few people as extras/bit parts.

Kudos to O’Donnell on his directorial debut, he certainly has a knack as a writer/director so I’m curious if he continues to pursue filmmaking as well as acting. If you’re looking for an entertaining, dynamic original indie movie with equal action and heart, then you can’t go wrong with Marmalade.

Marmalade is available to rent on Prime Video.

Have you seen Marmalade? What did you think?

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