Jeri Jacquin

Coming to theatres from writer/director Henry Nelson and Strike Back Studios is the story of a sheltered life from two perspectives when ASLEEP IN MY PALM.

In a small Ohio college town, dad Tom (Tim Blake Nelson) with daughter Beth Anne (Chloe Kerwin) are living an extremely quiet life. Beth Anne is a 16-year-old girl who looks up to her father who shares his outlook on life and beliefs. Living an extremely simple life, Tom makes his money taking what he thinks no one else really needs.

Beth doesn’t attend school but instead is educated by Tom in why they don’t need the outside world to live. When Tom has to go tend to business, he leaves Beth Anne to wait at the local empty college where she sees and experiences a moment of tenderness and affection in a way she has not experienced before.

When a string of horrendous events happen, Beth Anne is front and center now in her own life, but is it?

Nelson as Tom is a man who may be in the present but clearly his beliefs come from the past. Teaching Beth Anne why he believes what he believes, she absorbs it and their relationship is strong. His goal is earning, making sure a roof is constantly over their heads and keeping them both safe. Nelson gives his character intensity, charm, intelligence, survival, mystery and he doesn’t let up on the gas from start to finish.

Kerwin as Beth Anne is an innocent who accepts the life she is living with Dad Tom. There is clearly an innocence that is endearing but, as the story unfolds, Kerwin’s character begins experiencing the outside world with dad at her side. Slowly and deliberately, Beth Anne’s silence speaks volumes and that is all due to Kerwin’s incredible performance.

Other cast include Grant Harvey, Gus Birney, Jared Abrahamson, David Baker, Christopher Mele, Corin Clay and R. Scott Purdy.

ASLEEP IN MY PALM was nominated in 2023 for the Grand Jury Prize for New Directors Competition at the Nashville Film Festival and the winner of the Haskell Wexler Award for Best Cinematography from the Woodstock Film Festival.

When asked what audiences will come away with when seeing the film, the director says, “As far as what the audience takes away from this film, it’s ultimately up to them. Obviously, I hope they dig it and don’t think I’m an awful director. But in all seriousness, there’s no incorrect response.”

It seems director Nelson, who is the true son of actor Tim Nelson, not only intentionally leaves out an in-depth back story but intentionally leaves us to our own imagination and that’s not a bad thing. Each of us has our own story to tell and, in some ways, can relate to the story Tom is trying to express and Beth Anne’s awakening of life outside of her father. Then, as with life, writer/director Nelson blow us out of the water and we are left with wanting to do exactly what Beth Anne did (see for yourself).

In the end – question everything!

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