Barking Water is a 2009 film directed by Sterlin Harjo (Reservation Dogs). Centering around the character of Frankie, a dying man, leaving the hospital and having his former lover Irene drive him back home in hopes to talk with his family one last time. All the while, they slowly reckon with one another's pasts and their own relationship.
Tropes featured in Barking Water include:
- All for Nothing: Ultimately Played With. Frankie never gets to make it home, but he and Irene reckon with one another, reconcile, and make amends by the end. While Frankie never achieves his ostensible goal, it's clear he genuinely accomplished something.
- Artistic License – Geography: The actual drive from the hospital to Frankie's home, judging by the real location of the hospital, would be much shorter and certainly a drive the two could make before the ending. The film's Road Trip Plot nonetheless calls for the two to travel a distance.
- Big Sleep: Frankie seemingly falls asleep in the car, and doesn't wake up at the end of the film.
- Bittersweet Ending: On the "bitter" end, Frankie dies in the car and never makes it home to his family. On the "sweet" end, Frankie and Irene reconcile and make amends, making it clear the journey was worth a lot to them.
- Central Theme:
- Reconciliation and forgiveness. Despite Frankie and Irene's frayed relationship, the two make amends over their long journey and reconcile their fraught relationship. The two have conflicting views on life, but ultimately forgive one another for breaking Irene's heart and falsely claiming he abused her.
- Family. The reason Frankie broke Irene's heart was to return to his roots with his family, and his goal in the film is to return to his family to talk with them; in both cases, the end result isn't the importance of his family per se, but the way it plays into his relationship with Irene.
- Domestic Abuse: Frankie confesses to having "roughed up" Irene a long time in their past. The central reveal of the film is that Irene lied about it, letting Frankie take the fall after he broke her heart, and Frankie went with it out of sympathy and love for her.
- Good All Along: Initially, while Frankie seems like a kind man it's made clear he was a Domestic Abuser in the past. The film puts this to rest by firmly revealing that he was never abusive, and Irene lied about it; his real crime was leaving her completely and breaking her heart.
- Hidden Depths: The white man who initially threatens Frankie with a gun turns out to actually, be a fairly nice fellow who gets along with him when given more context.
- Like an Old Married Couple: Frankie and Irene bicker consistently, even as Frankie is dying, whether it's about their past or about the music Frankie continues to listen to incessantly throughout the trip. Despite this, it's obvious Irene cares deeply about him and they ultimately reconcile.
- Mood Whiplash: When Frankie is threatened by a white man with a shotgun, the circumstances seem quite dire. The scene turns to comedy when the man starts smoking weed with Frankie instead.
- Nice Guy: For all the flaws he might've had in the past, ( Said abuse turning out to be a fabrication anyways) Frankie is a kindhearted and generous man in the present day of the film.
- The Reveal: After the film leads one to believe Frankie used to be abusive to Irene, Irene reveals that his real offense was breaking her heart; she lied about the abuse, and he went with it. This changes the context of their relationship entirely.
- Road Trip Plot: The film is all about Irene driving Frankie home to his family, and the experiences they undergo along the way.
- Scenery Porn: The film's extensive travels show beautiful views of nature as part of the long journey.
- Sure, Let's Go with That: Frankie has absolutely no problem confessing to having abused Irene, despite the fact he didn't actually do it and is Good All Along.
- Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: One would expect the film to end with Frankie making it home and seeing his family. Instead, Frankie dies in the car, during the trip, in a show of morbid realism that nonetheless ends the film with himself, and Irene reconciled.
