Rumblestrips (2013)

Rumblestrips are those raised bumps on the road that make a loud, jarring vibration when an inattentive driver drifts off course or needs to slow down. Rumblestrips the movie is a fictional narrative about a foolish but well-meaning mother whose life has drifted off center, and it's the unwavering devotion of her two young daughters that leads her back within the lines. Told as a personal narrative from Toby's and each of her young daughters' points of view, Rumblestrips is a tale of how this family navigates loss and love when the mother they rely upon may soon be taken away from them. Broke and emotionally blistered after the death of her husband, Toby has turned to a beloved pastime, growing marijuana, to provide for her family. When she is arrested and convicted, she packs up the RV and takes her two young daughters on a road trip while uneasily awaiting sentencing. Lulu, longing for her normal 12 year-old's life of boys and soccer, patiently rides along, quietly mining her mother for any clues as to what lies ahead, and tiring of keeping her younger sister, Zelda, in the dark. Zelda, for her part, is happy to tag along, soaking up her bored sister's attention and ready for adventure. As the RV steers from the misty coast of the Pacific Northwest, across emerald mountains and all the way down to the dusty banks of the Rio Grande, the truth and consequences of Toby's choices are chronicled. She brushes off her impending court date as "nothing" and pushes the RV on, deep into the desert, as if the isolated peace of the dry land can keep her children close and her demons distant. But when the RV breaks down, Toby compromises her family's safety by seeking help from a stranger who pulls Toby's errors into the light. We aren't sure of this brooding man's motives, but he presents Toby with an opportunity to swallow her fears, redeem herself in her daughters' eyes, and brave the road that will take them all home.