From the opening frames of O’Dessa, writer-director Geremy Jasper (Patti Cake$) makes it clear: This is going to be big, loud, and drenched in neon. The post-apocalyptic rock opera aims to be a modern retelling of Orpheus and Eurydice, but despite the visuals and charm, its deeper allegory is a stretch.
This is a tale of O’dessa Galloway, a farm girl who belts her heart while out on a mythic quest for love and destiny. (O’dessa is played by Stranger Things’ Sadie Sink, who started on Broadway; her clear soprano is lovely.) The family heirloom, an instrument fashioned from a burning tree, is the lynchpin; O’Dessa is “the seventh son.” There begins the film’s gender-defying story, and with that fresh take on an ancient story, it grips. At first.
Hers is a simple life, one with a sick mother who knows her daughter is “bound to ramble” (rambling is a core tenet), set against the beautiful backdrop of mountain farmland. O’Dessa’s home feels worlds away from Satylite City, where she’s ultimately headed. With an Appalachian twang, she embarks on a journey that tries so hard to be epic. But as the kids say, “it’s doing too much.” Or maybe not enough.
O’Dessa’s quest leads her to Euri Dervish, played by Kelvin Harrison Jr. (Baz Luhrman’s Elvis), a rock star first introduced behind a fringed mask in a look straight out of Orville Peck’s playbook. Regina Hall shines as Neon Dion, a character who channels Tina Turner’s Aunty Entity from Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, though her hair aesthetic leans more Die Antwoord. Satylite City is an industrial wasteland full of diehard minions, powered by a mysterious plasma-like energy source and greed. The city’s dystopian spectacle is ruled by Plutonovich, a megalomaniac overlord whose over-the-top presence feels uncomfortably relevant in 2025.
Part The Hunger Games, part NeverEnding Story, O’Dessa is a visual feast, with iridescent oil slicks, glowing boats, and a general dirty-danger-big-city aesthetic that makes you wonder if Jar Jar Binks is about to pop out. (Thankfully, no.) Jasper leans into the theatrical with a soundtrack that shifts from folksy ballads to full-throttle rock anthems, but not a single one sticks. Harrison’s dance numbers are probably the most exciting parts, save for a digit-clipping to the tune of The Piano. The film’s emotional weight is easy enough to carry, and its biggest set pieces are just outside the scope of awe, but ultimately the film gets lost in its own sea of odes.
And while the aesthetics are cool, the story’s deeper meanings feel muddled. There are grand pronouncements – “Nothing in this life is more powerful than love” and “Speak out and die”– which seem to hint at a bigger message, but except for the cute lover story, it never fully crystallizes. In Plutonovitch’s life-and-death singing competition, one punishment seems to be a lobotomy with an extreme dose of Mar-a-Lago face, and I’m not entirely sure why. Experiencing an “opera,” one expects to cry or cheer or… something, but neither a head bob or foot tap is ever achieved.
Still, for those willing to get lost in its shimmering, gender-defying, sing-for-your-life world, O’Dessa offers a fun ride. It may not hit every note, or inspire your own cosmic walkabout, but its endearing efforts create a sweet spectacle.
O’Dessa is set to be released on Hulu on March 20. Read Richard Whittaker’s interview with filmmaker Geremy Jasper here.
O’Dessa
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This article appears in March 7 • 2025.