Whilst his previous film – 2017’s crowd-pleasing Patti Cake$ – had a scrappiness to it, it beamed with a personality larger than its budget. For O’Dessa, director Geremy Jasper delights in supreme maximalism, as his post-apocalyptic musical-romance hybrid projects its bigness through both its visuals and its central thematic of how love can transform one’s world.
There’s a little Mad Max here and a little Blade Runner there, but Jasper flexes enough of a unique vision for his clear references to not overhaul an originality that should be celebrated; even if the film itself never quite manages consistent footing throughout.
At its centre is the titular O’Dessa, played with rightful spunk by Sadie Sink, who, as the seventh son of a seventh son, is to become “one who could stir souls, armed with a mighty guitar.” Never mind that we don’t see any of her siblings, nor that she’s not technically a “son” (though the film’s disregard for gender is one of its bolder ingredients), the film is more concerned with setting the musically inclined lass on her journey towards her intended destiny, something that will see her cross paths with a plethora of colorful characters – namely fellow musician Euri (Kelvin Harrison Jr.), his savage handler, Neon Dion (an enjoyably camp Regina Hall), and the dictatorial Plutonovich (Murray Bartlett, having an absolute ball).
O’Dessa encounters the aforementioned in the city of Satylite, where Plutonovich rules with an entertainment-minded cruelty, serving as the host of a game show that plays out like America’s Got Talent with brutal Hunger Games-like consequences for its “contestants.” With the film running just over 100 minutes, Jasper packs a heft of story into proceedings, which means it can feel a little too rushed for its own good, with the love story between O’Dessa and Euri progressing considerably quickly.
In many ways, and perhaps fittingly, O’Dessa as a film feels as if it’s an extended music video. It creates a fascinating world, there’s stupendous visuals, and the music is appropriately catchy, but it stays relatively surface level, despite the wealth of interest bubbling underneath. That all being said, O’Dessa does have a sense of the “cult classic” about it, and whilst it’s going to streaming in these modern times – where, on Disney+, it could entice younger viewers with its colours and gender-blurring topicality – you can imagine in the days of the VHS and video store trolling, this would be one of those titles that teens would possibly rent on a whim and become easily consumed by.
Jasper is so evidently an exciting filmmaker, and regardless as to how one responds to the film as a whole, it can’t be denied he’s delighting in the bombastic. In a time when original cinema and unique voices are being quietened by audiences who seemingly won’t take risks, perhaps the “safety” of streaming will allow those very viewers to take something of a risk and see what’s possible beyond IPs, reboots and franchises. Sure, O’Dessa may not always work, but big swings, as opposed to something more tried and tested, deserve the ultimate respect.
THREE STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
O’Dessa is available to stream on Disney+ in Australia and on Hulu in the United States from March 20th, 2025.
