[rating=9.00]
6 Balloons spans a single night in LA, following a well-meaning but ultimately enabling woman who drags her addict brother and his infant daughter across a half-dozen neighborhoods as he gets increasingly desperate for a fix. It’s a grim premise, and executed as such, with a narrative that forces you into the backseat with its characters, then locks the doors while their night slowly and steadily unravels.
The film premiered as part of SXSW last month just a few weeks ahead of its Netflix premiere. Part of Netflix’s expanding collection of original productions, there’s something to be said for giving a platform to a film that would likely struggle with a conventional run in theaters. Moreover, they cast two lead actors who are known mostly for their comedic roles — Abbi Jacobson as Katie and Dave Franco as Seth.
Both Jacobson and Franco had been looking to expand into dramatic roles, and they both go all in with this one. While Jacobson’s delivery at times seems similar to her work in Broad City, there’s a sort of undercurrent to her performance. At a 70-odd minute runtime, the script’s fairly economical, but there’s something about Katie’s backstory that’s immediate, and all-too familiar to those who might relate to her story.
Franco holds his own as Seth, who manages to portray a functioning heroin addict in a way that makes you feel both disgust and sympathy at the same time. As they anxiously roam the city together, their lifelong codependence bubbles to the surface almost immediately, and their history together slowly gets colored in by their performances. And without any real subplots, (while, there’s a surprise birthday party we keep checking in on), you’re stuck with these two through the duration.
6 Balloons makes for a compelling watch, where your frustration with both characters is perpetually leveled out by a kind of arm’s-length understanding. Even if you’ve never been in a situation like theirs, you understand the brother/sister bond, particularly when it comes to Katie. You know this isn’t her first time in a car aimlessly driving around while she starts looking for a detox center in their insurance network and ends buying a hit from a guy living in a tent on Skid Row.
Their relationship, like their night in LA together is well-worn, not quite threadbare, but all too familiar.
While it’d be a disservice to call this movie an experiment, it’s certainly unconventional from the concept on down, and its risks pay off. It’s a grounded, unrelentingly claustrophobic narrative that lets both Jacobson and Franco breath real life into their respective characters.
6 Balloons is available to stream on Netflix anytime
