Deidra & Laney Rob a Train (2017) Reviews

• fun independent film

  blanche-22017-04-16

  Now that Hollywood has figured out that there's money to be made with independent films, we see a lot of them, and they cost a fortune. It's not like the old days. Deidra & Laney Rob a Train is an old-fashioned independent - it didn't cost much by movie standards and many of the actors are unfamiliar to audiences. The mother of three goes to prison, leaving her kids to fend for themselves. When they visit her in prison, it turns out she's having a blast not having to work. She's doing yoga, getting her nails done, and can choose between the kitchen OR the laundry. But the kids want to bail her out. As the bills pile up, the older one, Deidra (Ashleigh Murray) decides to rob a train, as they live near the tracks. She drags her sister Laney (Rachel Crow) into it. They actually are able to do it more than once and sell what they get. Then their estranged father gets into the act. Entertaining film with some life lessons about self-esteem, bullying, and - oh, yes, stealing. This is on Netflix streaming - check it out. You'll enjoy it.

  More

• Light, funny, and lovable

  AmakoaAkana2017-07-25

  I loved the characters, all of them. Even the outrageous psycho train dick. Ashleigh Murray plays Deidra, the oldest sister, highly intelligent, valedictorian, the only one in her class with any hopes of getting into a top university. But when her Mother gets thrown into jail in a fit of insanity, Deidra is left to try and pay the bills and her college dreams fade. Food is down to a half bag of potato chips. Social services is pounding on her door, threatening to take her siblings Laney, played by Rachel Crow, and her brother to foster homes. Deidra comes up with a plan: robbing freight trains that roll by her backyard with her shy little sister, a helmeted teddy bear, and fencing the stuff (detergent as an example, until they learn to read the labels on the crates) wholesale. Through the planning of the robberies and subsequent twists and turns, I fell in love with the two sisters, rooting for them to succeed at every turn. Sounds heavy, but the movie is light, funny, and lovable. For me, Deidra & Laney is an edge of the midnight movie seat, unable to even take a break to grab a snack, and staying until the last credit rolled movie. And lastly, I appreciated a plot I haven't seen before, in a rural poverty stricken setting, and having mixed race kids as the protagonists.

  More

• A Gem of a Movie

  dollypeppers2018-02-22

  I'm so glad I stumbled across this on Netflix. It was so good. At its heart this is a story about family and what you will do to preserve it. This movie has a lot of soul to it; it's funny and it's moving. It's dramatic and it's somewhat bittersweet. When mom goes to jail, what are two school age sisters with a younger brother to do? The bills pile up and CPS comes call. Dad's kind of a goofy wreck who claims he's the best dad in the world... when he's not there. The older sister is trying to get her plans together so she can go to college and get out of the little town that's keeping them down. It seems like everything is conspiring to keep these girls as nothings but that all turns around when they start robbing trains. I appreciated how all the characters were written, they felt really real to me. And as I said before this is a very funny movie. I laughed out loud quite a bit. But it was also touching, if you have siblings you will feel those moments where the sisters conflict or work together. Give it a shot, you won't regret watching it.

  More

• Fantastic

  dktragonizer2017-03-25

  I hadn't heard of this until I came across it looking through films on Netflix and gave it a shot because I liked the premise. Who doesn't enjoy a good train robbery story? I was immediately pulled into the story through the two titular characters. Deidra and Laney get along as siblings tend to do - that is, not always well, but they love each other, and the two actresses had great chemistry in this regard. I never once felt bored during this movie. I was always rooting for the main characters, on the edge of my seat wondering how they'd get through certain situations, and found myself laughing a few times at some good, funny moments. There's also one scene in particular that really tugs at the heartstrings; it was well-done and a gave a great bit of emotional impact to the film and its characters. Phenomenal performances from everyone, but especially to Nicolet, Murray, Crow, and Zamata. Definitely a must-watch if you enjoy this kind of premise, and movies about teen girls learning to grow and kick ass.

  More

• Shows an interesting corner of life

  Okonh0wp2017-04-11

  "Deidra and Laney Rob a Train" is set in a non-descript town where almost no one goes to college, the local rail yard doesn't pay a sustainable wage, and signs of the town's glory days have littered the town's visual landscape. There's a lot of talk lately about showing more people of minority races on TV but this is a film that shows a landscape of economic depression that doesn't discriminate against people of either color. The two protagonists are bi-racial and neither their African-American mother nor their white father can make enough to provide them a brighter future (though points go to mom for trying quite a bit harder). When the titular characters' mother gets incarcerated, they decide to rob the insides of slow-moving freight trains to raise money for their bail. The film gets interesting when exploring the dangers and logistics of such an act. Like a lot of the film, the appeal is in exploring a corner of Americana that has been right under your eyes most of your life. Deidra and Laney are astereotpical with the elder sister being an overachiever in school and Laney being angst-filled and Laney filled with a mixture of angst and a desire to fit in. She's bullied quite a bit and these scenes are perhaps the cruelest in the film to stomach if you haven't seen much of this genre. The film is filled with a few familiar faces (Sasheer Zamata of "Saturday Night Live", Missi Pyle, and Tim Blake Nelson) but mostly thrives on new talent and these actresses have a lot of room to surprise us. It's a worthwhile watch.

  More