American Dream

America’s lack of social safety net has been laid bare by the pandemic and has even further exposed how basic survival is especially difficult for those with any “strike” against them, such as addiction. Since the opioid crisis and the cynical exploitation of patients by drug companies with their addictive pain killers, most people now understand that addiction is a disease that can affect anyone. American Dream puts the gig-work economy into that context to show how precarious the American ethos of rugged individualism really is.

When I read the script, I decided immediately that we needed to be close-up to the protagonist with wide lenses to provide a sense of vulnerability while capturing the context of place, so that we might glimpse the edges of her precarious world. The diversity of Los Angeles is not always reflected in films made about this city, so I knew I wanted the color palette, sounds and architecture of this film to represent the L.A. I experience and to reflect my own cultural sensibilities.

The sudden and arresting changes of circumstance from one street to another in this city reflect the American tapestry with all its color, pace and pulses, even as that gorgeous fabric is fraying at the edges and inward to the core. As we observe our protagonist working hard to scratch out a living in the gig economy while clinging to sobriety and her tiny thread of hope, we root for her and truly feel the ineffable draw and precarious reality of the American Dream. Enjoy!