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I loved “”What Lies West,” an Indie film starring two very different but likeable young women in a coming of age story. Nicolette (played by Nicolette Ellis) is a popular 22-year-old who’s a recent college graduate. She majored in acting, but isn’t quite ready to head to L.A. with her friends. We learn that Nicolette’s not quite over the pain her boyfriend Alex (Jack Vincenty) inflicted when he married someone else.
Alex still tries to keep Nicolette on his string, but reneges on a promise to hire her at the Sonoma Valley winery he runs for his family. Instead, he offers to find an image consultant to further her acting dreams. This should give her an “edge” over other aspiring actresses heading for Hollywood. Nicolette moves in with her parents, but her plans for a relaxing summer are overturned by her concerned mother.
Chloe Moore and Nicolette Ellis in “What Lies West.” Photo courtesy of Bright Iris Film Co.
“What Lies West,” written and directed by Jessica Ellis in her feature directing debut, is a sweet and engaging dual coming of age film. Shot on a shoestring, a very thin shoestring, against odds that couldn’t be foreseen, it’s a real life example of Robert Burns’ “The best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men gang aft a gley.” It was filmed in a total of 17 days but took far longer to finish. Between the end of the first shooting segments and the final ones, Ellis underwent open heart surgery and the Sonoma County wildfires burned many of the previously shot exteriors. And then again, there was that pesky pandemic that cut short the festival circuit. But this feisty American Film Institute (AFI)- trained crew prevailed.