Linoleum [2022]
“Some look at the stars; others swim in them.”
In the words of Drake, “Sometimes it’s the journey that teaches you a lot about your destination.” And I think that Colin West’s 2022 film, Linoleum, is a striking example of this truth. In a stunning examination of legacy, self-worth, and the whimsical nature of love, dreams, and what it means to fit-out in a world that demands you fit in, Linoleum is a film that often gets in its own way but more than satiates with it’s celestial conclusion.
Cameron [Jim Gaffigan] hosts a children’s science show redolent of the great Bill Nye the Science Guy called Above and Beyond. While his passion for science and the stars is undeniable, his life begins to fall apart when a series of incidents all collide at once, sending him into a downwards spiral. Forced to look at his life and what his past will mean for his future, Cameron is faced with the tough reality that sometimes “it’s just not that simple”.
Or is it?
Linoleum is very much a film built and bred from the pieces of other greats that came before it. While this sounds like a criticism, I mean that in an affectionate way and writer/ director Colin West deserves many accolades for what he’s created from these various bones. It’s a weird, slightly wacky movie with a kind of unsettling warping of reality that seems to be marching towards some unknown fate like Donnie Darko, that has all the fantasy and grace of Big Fish, but is going to punch you right in the gut by being a beautiful and genuine story of self discovery, love, and realization like Spike Jones’ Her. Linoleum is no doubt a romance, but not in the way that moniker typically leads and, as only the second major film of his career, shows an incredible tact and touching grace from the up and coming director.
The film is not without its flaws, and I think those are important to know going in. Viewers will find nearly all of Linoleum’s individual beats almost entirely stagnant, even trite at times — if you’ve seen nearly any movie, you’re going to be able to predict the outcome of just about any of the conflicts — and this is something that gave me a lukewarm attitude towards the film during my initial viewing. However, it’s this borderline mundane approach to concepts that also make them work so well. There’s an intentionality behind the kind of “standard“ execution of events that isn’t clear until the closing moments of the film and, in reflection, it turns them from cookie-cutter-plot-points to devastatingly touching pieces of the puzzle. Linoleum is very much a fairytale in this way and feels right at home next to the best of them by the end. I typically don’t like to talk about how events tie together [even as vaguely as this], but I want to make sure that viewers get the most out of the film they can, and curbing that expectation early will sand most of the film’s rough edges away.
That said, those “rough edges” are more of an inconvenience than they are a true fault; minor storytelling baubles at worst. The rest of the film is absolutely beautiful. Sets, costumes, performances, score, cinematography: Linoleum is a fantastic adventure to be a part of and one that I will be recommending for many years to come. There’s a real beauty in the tale that West tells here and, in the age of highlight-reel social media and the endless self scrutiny that modern tech allows us, Linoleum at once feels like an impossible dream made only for the silver screen, and a relatable release that says everything will be ok and that you are enough. It feels as though the script for Linoleum could have been entirely written based on the famous Norman Vincent Peale quote, “Shoot for the Moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars,” as, even when it doesn’t quite hit all its marks, there’s still an undeniable charm and affection to the entire thing.
There’s an enchanting air about Linoleum that’s difficult to put into words and, though I do think it’s minor hang-ups are going to keep it off of most people’s “Top 10” lists, I bet it’s going to be a constant #11; one that makes people suck their teeth, clap their hands, and say, “Oh man, yeah. I do love that movie,” every time it comes up. There’s few films that fill these exact shoes, and I hope that Colin West continues to develop these unique and touching stories. It’s the rare lightweight film with punch, the elusive dramedy with something meaningful to say, and an early work from a director who’s only other film is a mostly “fine” horror. While it’s hard to describe much of Linoleum or the way it makes you feel, if I had to sum it up into a single word, it would be… “magic”.
“…the universe in our heads is more real than reality itself.”
