Marmalade is a heist rom-com starring Joe Keery as Baron, Camila Morrone as Marmalade, and Aldis Hodge as Otis. The story is told as a flashback as Baron tries to convince his cellmate Otis to help him break out of jail. It is packed with twists and turns all leading to a satisfying conclusion.
I can best describe this story as a mix of Escape from Alcatraz and Catch Me if You Can. Baron is portrayed as a simple man who just loves his mama and his girlfriend Marmalade but there is so much more to him beneath the surface. Keery does an excellent job of portraying Baron and all of his quirks.
His storytelling in the beginning is funny, paired with Hodges’s no-BS demeanor towards his story. Baron is such an interesting character thanks to Keery and everything he’s willing to do for this role.
Hodges and Marrone are also excellent. Their characters are meant to foil Baron and they do so quite well. Marmalade is confident and abrasive and Hodges is aggressive and smart compared to Baron. Both of them bring out the most interesting aspects of Baron.
I think the movie is paced well. The first main twist happens around the halfway point, once we’ve already got know who these characters are. The next big twist happens at the end which just makes wraps the movie up so perfectly. I won’t go into any detail about what happens, but the way it is shot and scored was very impressive and gave me goosebumps.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Marmalade blew my expectations out of the water. It was very entertaining and the twists were so much fun. Joe Keery was awesome as Baron, and Hodges and Marrone filled their roles in the story perfectly. Marmalade is an under-the-radar movie that is worth your time.
