Being an artist is not always an easy endeavour – certain challenges come with being a creative individual that can cause a range of personal and professional issues. Melora Walters set out to explore this subject in her directorial debut, the well-meaning Waterlily Jaguar, in which she examines the trials and tribulations of a well-liked author who is growing tired of being mostly known for the low-quality “airport novels” that have brought him a moderate amount of success, finding himself inspired by the discovery of the remains of a Native American woman, whose body was found in the Los Angeles tar pits, which fascinates him and gives him a new lease on his art. One of the more peculiar directorial debuts of recent years, but one that still has many merits, Waterlily Jaguar is quite a strange film, but one that is entirely worth our time. Walters is quite a unique artist, and even in her capacity as a writer and actor, for which she was mostly known before stepping behind the camera and helming this film, her career trajectory has been unconventional, far different from that followed by her contemporaries. However, as we have often seen, it is usually the least expected sources that make the most intriguing works, and Walters proves to be quite a fascinating artistic voice, this film being a well-constructed, meaningful exploration of a rage of themes, carefully woven together through her very particular attention to detail. It may not always be all that consistent, but it is certainly a strong attempt for a debut, and one of the more audacious investigations of some of these concepts, which come through in extraordinary detail throughout the film.

It is important to note that Walters isn’t doing anything particularly groundbreaking or inventive with this film. Stories about artists struggling with existential quandaries and the challenges that come with the process of creation are a dime a dozen, and it is extremely difficult to find an original approach to this kind of material, so even attempting it seems like a fool’s errand. However, what it lacks in originality it usually makes up for in sheer gumption, and many small details can set these films apart. Waterlily Jaguar features many very interesting components that immediately set it apart and make it quite a fascinating examination of the process of creation, told from the perspective of someone who has achieved an admirable level of fame, but not the kind that he necessarily appreciates. Every artist wants to believe themselves to be on the cutting edge, acclaimed for the complexity and originality of their work, rather than being seen as a populist sellout, someone who may be cherished by the public, but in the process struggles to correlate popular adoration with artistic integrity. There is a perpetual discussion around the possibility that work can be loved by both the public and the critics, with the dissonance between popular media and proverbial “serious” art often being the foundation of these stories. Waterlily Jaguar explores someone who wants to be taken seriously but has instead found popularity elsewhere, which could have been reductive and pretentious had it not been handled by a director who implicitly understood the root of this debate, which she carefully pieces together throughout this film, which is a much more nuanced look into the inner turmoil many artists encounter when they are forced into a space of existential pondering, stuck at the crossroads between financial success or being viewed as a great artist, which is unfortunately viewed as mutually exclusive concepts in the modern artistic landscape.

At the heart of Waterlily Jaguar, we have a terrific performance from James LeGros, who is not an actor who regularly has the opportunity to lead films but is more familiar with supporting roles in which his unique set of talents are more commonly used. Walters cast LeGros primarily as a way of giving him a major role, and one that gives him the chance to play a more three-dimensional character, most of his career consisting of small, scene-stealing supporting parts. He’s terrific in this film – it’s a very internal performance, but he finds the nuances underlying the character, creating beautiful moments that are detailed and well-constructed, while also being very meaningful, much more than we may initially expect. He is joined by the wonderful Mira Sorvino, who turns in a surprisingly complex performance that goes far beyond the long-suffering wife archetype that it seems to be following at the start, as well as Stacey Oristano as the main character’s assistant, with whom he has quite a contentious relationship, albeit one that is still built on respect more than anything else. It’s a well-constructed film with a lot of heart and soul, but it approaches its characters with a sense of cynicism, almost as if it doesn’t want them to succeed, which creates a very interesting tension – not a single one of these individuals is particularly likeable, and while they all undergo developmental arcs, they aren’t necessarily upwards, since the intention of this film isn’t to give them redemption, but rather to show their various challenges and how they shift their perspective in radically different ways. It’s a solid cast, and one that is surprisingly quite complex, which is a rare achievement for a film this simple, but one of the many reasons Waterlily Jaguar is a much more intriguing project than it seems on the surface.

The aspect of Waterlily Jaguar that works the most is how Walters approaches the material. Simplicity is the key to success with a film like this, and the director understands that the most significant impact is made through small details rather than broad strokes. Taking her cue from her friend and regular collaborator Paul Thomas Anderson (who attaches his name to this film as an executive producer), as well as his mentor Robert Altman, Walters creates an intricate psychological character study that draws attention to the intricate atmosphere of Los Angeles, which becomes something of a character in itself, elements of neo-noir being scattered throughout this film, which is a fascinating psychological character study that tackles serious material but never comes across as having any delusions of self-importance, being entirely aware of the fact that it exists alongside many similar films, being one of many entries into a sub-genre focused on examing the minutiae that exist at the heart of this iconic city, telling one of the thousands of fascinating stories. It is all executed with a precise, straightforward tone – Walters is not one for abstraction or overtly stylish direction, instead choosing a vague realist approach that lays the conceptual foundation bare, allowing this film to be a much more intriguing affair than perhaps we may have initially expected based on its premise since there isn’t anywhere to hide its details. It is remarkably concise, even when it sometimes veers towards being too subdued, many sequences feeling as if they are meandering through the meaningless routine of these characters and their paltry existence, which in itself contains some merit, even if it takes some time to fully acclimate ourselves to the atmosphere that propels this film.

In hindsight, it is not surprising that Waterlily Jaguar is seen by most to be a relatively middling effort, a film that didn’t announce the arrival of Walters as an exciting new filmmaker so much as it showed that she is a very competent director whose approach to the narrative process is a lot more simple than many may expect, which seems to be her preferred style. However, this doesn’t mean that this film is by any means poor or not worth the time – it is a compact psychological drama, one that clocks in at under 90 minutes (the perfect length of time for such a small film), and which showcases an elegance and honesty that keeps it engaging and interesting, even when it is slightly more subdued than it perhaps ought to have been. This is a very personal work since it is made by a director who has firsthand experience of the challenges of being an artist in a city as notoriously difficult to navigate as Los Angeles, and while it isn’t directly autobiographical, it is impossible to not see that this is a film with a lot of depth gleaned from her trials and tribulations over the years. It’s a very simple film, but one with a lot of heart, which is important for a story that could have very easily been a passionless affair. Waterlily Jaguar is a wonderful curio of a film, a compelling drama about the life of an artist, exploring the impetus behind creation and the difficulties faced when it comes time to create work, since it isn’t always easy to start, let alone when you are navigating your crises of identity. Anchored by strong performances, a good script and a lot of intriguing ideas, it is a compelling work, and one worth every moment of our time, even if it can sometimes veer towards the overly simplistic.