See original review here.
Production Improvements
Much like other movies that need renovations, Wildflower has a very professional production. As expected, the only issue that needs improvement here is the editing, as it is quite choppy. However, this is related to the plot, so if this had been rectified, the production would have been nearly perfect.
Plot and Storyline Improvements
Wildflower is one of the most frustrating plots to witness. It is billed as a unique psychological thriller, and at first, it seems like it has a lot of potential. However, the more it goes on, the more disappointing it becomes due to narration and overly obvious elements. The mystery factors and intended elements of surprise are crippled by the poor presentation of the story. It tries to become too complicated and involved without properly developing the characters or even what the psychological concept behind this plot is trying to convey or model. For example, the flashbacks\dreams of the protagonist are intriguing, but what about other elements of trauma? In a similar vein, the antagonist of the story is too obvious, and the scope of the psychological elements are too limited. Also, the artistic elements of this film are creative and interesting, but there are times when the plot gets lost in them. This plot could have been greatly improved with a more well-charted psychological journey without narration, in order to preserve the element of surprise in the plot twists. A more pertinent study of the effects of trauma and causes of dissociation would have made this movie a lot more realistic. Of course, allowing the characters to develop naturally through substantial dialogue and flashbacks is always a must in a psychological plot. Finally, the actions and motivations of the characters need to be better explained without so much reliance on coincidences and vague ideas. There was tons of potential here; it just needed to be better developed.
Acting Improvements
For the most part, this cast was very professional, even with a fairly difficult script to work with. Much like the plot affecting the editing, improving some of the dialogue would have likely improved some of the lines that the cast members didn’t have much to work with. However, there were some underwhelming moments that could have been improved, as well as some overly dramatic sequences.
Conclusion
We absolutely need more psychological thrillers in Christian film, but they need to be well-constructed, well-thought-out, and well-researched. Trauma and dissociation are great topics to explore, but they need to be grounded in reality and not vaguely presented. Also, narration rarely helps a movie, and the motivations of characters need to be demonstrated through deep dialogue and engaging flashbacks. Moreover, we believe that Nicholas DiBella has tons of potential as a film maker and will continue to improve in his career.
Box Office Revolution 