King Of California

Growing up the daughter of a mentally unbalanced, institutionalized, weed smokin', self-obsessed father is a tough existence. But 16-year-old Miranda, played by Evan Rachel Wood, gives it all she's got. She works double shifts at McDonalds, saves every extra dime and has definite plans for her future.

Plans that get stalled when her father is released and moves back in with her.

Charlie, played by Michael Douglas, has a Bipolar disorder and an obsessive desire to find a cache of 400-year-old gold doubloons. It's his focus and his mission, even more so than getting to know his daughter again. To salvage the relationship, Miranda realizes she has to become a part of her father's delusion. Through that effort, the two make a connection both needed desperately.

King Of California is a small budget flick that had ran a limited release in the United States. The performances are tops shelf, and the writing by first-time screenwriter and director Mike Cahill is fine. The pace of the movie is a bit slow, but the ending is worth the wait.

One man's delusion is another man's reality, sometimes.