Dandelion

Writer-director Nicole Riegel’s “Dandelion” takes place over a mere number of days, but emotionally, inserts us so deeply into its lead’s mind that it feels like we’ve traversed an entire consciousness. Dandelion (Kiki Layne) is unfulfilled. She’s an aspiring musician from Cincinnati who plays a regular gig in a hotel bar filled with inattentive and chatty patrons. The heart and soul she pours into her songs is drowned out by girls’ nights and the allure of a phone screen. And further, when she heads home to care for her sick mother, she’s met with attitude-riddled conversations, spats, and sentiments shaming the idea of being “a 40-year-old troubadour.”