Asher Morgan and Katie Vincent’s movie Plucked wants to be a lot of things. It’s a relationship drama, it’s a period piece, it’s a dark comedy. The film isn’t always able to succeed at hitting each of these notes, but this is one of those indie movies where viewers can tell everyone is going for broke. And that chaotic energy makes it appealing.
Co-writer and co-director Vincent stars as Katherine Greene, who’s had enough of her marriage to Dr. Peter Greene. In fact, it seems like Katherine’s had enough of a lot. This alone would be the basis for some sharp domestic comedy (think Kevin Can F–k Himself), except for that Morgan and Vincent have set the film in the 1880s, when divorce is taboo and having children is called a woman’s “greatest privilege.” Movie viewers know what follows: the scandal! The bitterness! The mayhem!
The interesting thing about Plucked is that everyone is having a miserable time. Unlike other movies with similar themes, it’s not just the headstrong wife trying to get away from the miserable husband. That is indeed the case, but Peter (played by Jared Canfield) has his own frustrations and difficulties to deal with. The movie takes place on the night of a massive dinner Peter is hosting as he tries to further his career; he has to put on an act of his own. Because he’s not put together either, the audience can get somewhat of a sense as to how he and Katherine ended up together in the first place, which is very much appreciated. It’s too easy to focus on how it all went wrong, but that naturally prompts the viewer to ask why it ever happened to begin with. and Plucked gives the audience a more well-rounded picture of Peter and Katherine’s relationship.
But of course, things do go very badly wrong. That’s the entire premise of the movie; the only question is what Morgan and Vincent are going to come up with to make this bad breakup hold people’s attention. There’s plenty of blood and violence, yet the film doesn’t rely on shock value to make up its whole second half. What carries Plucked once the inevitable happens is the entertainment value of frustrated people doing frustrating things. Viewers may find themselves snarking at their screens as Peter, Katherine and his brother James (played by J. Anthony Crane) behave like children. There’s a fight between the siblings that feels like a fight between five-year-olds. It helps that Vincent and Morgan have written a script in which the characters speak mostly modern English, which not only keeps the dialogue from being clunky, but makes it funnier when somebody lets an F-bomb fly.
One weak point is that supporting characters all slot into basic stereotypes, and most of them aren’t on screen long enough to make a decent impression. Plucked, like many indie movies, relies on a limited core cast and limited locations to keep the budget down. And the modern elements have a catch-22: they make the period setting feel more like a logistical piece than a necessary element. Setting the film in the 1880s explains how it’s not feasible for Katherine to just walk out on Peter, and gives James the chance to offend piano players everywhere. But there’s not a significant social angle to the movie. These people could hate each other at any point in time.
Acting-wise, Plucked rests mostly on the shoulders of Vincent, who is as sassy and self-centered as viewers expect of Katherine. Canfield gets to go from tightly wound to completely unraveled, and seems like he’s having a lot of fun being a first-class jerk. Crane doesn’t have as much to play with as the ne’er do well brother, but that means he also gets to lean into the comedy more openly than either of his co-stars. This is a movie where the appeal comes from everyone, including the audience, not taking it too seriously. And that mostly makes up for the missed opportunities in the script.
This would be an excellent double feature with Vivian Kerr’s Seance; both are period pieces about women escaping broken marriages. Plucked is not as layered or as emotionally deep as Seance; this is more of a chaotic escapade than a character study. Yet it’s entertaining in its own madcap way.
Plucked will have a limited theatrical release on Nov. 13, 2026; for more information on the film, visit its website. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Dark Passage Films.
Article content is (c)2020-2026 Brittany Frederick and may not be excerpted or reproduced without express written permission by the author. Follow me on Twitter at @BFTVTwtr and on Instagram at @BFTVGram. For story pitches, contact me at tvbrittanyf@yahoo.com.
