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Palm Trees and Power Lines (2018) movie poster

Timeline

Palm Trees and Power Lines (2018) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Release, runtime and language
2018 · 16 mins · English
Directed by
Jamie Dack
Starring
Philip Alexander, Alyssa Latson

Sixteen-year-old Charlotte spends a summer day drifting along until she encounters Tommy, an older man who offers a temporary escape from her loneliness. As their connection deepens, Tommy betrays her trust, forcing Charlotte to confront difficult choices and ultimately decide what she truly values.

On this page (6)
  1. 1 Where to watch
  2. 2 Events in order (11)
  3. 3 Timeline questions answered
  4. 4 Movie threads
  5. 5 Movies like Palm Trees and Power Lines
  6. 6 Every angle

Where to watch

Where to Watch Palm Trees and Power Lines (2018)

Where can you watch Palm Trees and Power Lines? Stream, rent or buy it in the US, including on Vimeo: current JustWatch availability with up-to-date prices.

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11 events in order · contains spoilers

Palm Trees and Power Lines Timeline: Events in Chronological Order

Every key event of Palm Trees and Power Lines (2018) in order, scene by scene, with when and where it takes place. Use it to untangle flashbacks, time jumps and parallel storylines, to refresh your memory before the sequel or to find the exact scene you are thinking of.

  1. Lea spends summer with friends

    Lea, a 17-year-old girl, spends her last weeks of summer hanging out with her best friend Amber and their group of friends at various locations in suburban Southern California. She has casual relationships with boys her age, including Jared, but finds these hookups unsatisfying. Her relationship with her mother, Sandra, is strained and emotionally distant.

    When
    Summer
    Where
    Southern California
  2. Lea encounters the older man at the diner

    While dining with friends, Lea notices an older man who winks at her as he leaves. She hesitates to run after her friends and later gets accosted by a cook, but the man intervenes and helps her escape. The man, Tom, later drives alongside her and offers her a ride home, introducing himself as a 34-year-old with his contact info.

    When
    One night
    Where
    Diner and on the street
  3. Lea's connection with Tom begins

    Lea is charmed by Tom and shares with Amber that she has met someone. She begins confiding in him about her strained relationship with her mother and her feelings of loneliness. Tom is sympathetic and claims to run a small home repair business, which he says gives him freedom.

    When
    Shortly after meeting
    Where
    Lea's home and outside
  4. Romantic relationship develops

    Lea and Tom become romantically involved, and she agrees to spend the night with him. They stay at a motel, where Tom leaves briefly to attend a domestic dispute. Lea senses something is wrong, but Tom dismisses her concerns, claiming he's helping a neighbor in trouble.

    When
    Soon after meeting
    Where
    Motel
  5. Lea meets Tom's acquaintance at the beach

    During a day at the beach with Tom, Lea is spotted by a school friend. Tom introduces himself to her, and Lea asks him not to tell anyone about their relationship. Tom tells her she is 'mine', reinforcing his possessiveness and control over her.

    When
    A few days after the motel encounter
    Where
    Beach
  6. Suspicion from a waitress

    While dining out, a waitress notices Lea's unease and secretly warns her that Tom has been seen with other young girls. She advises Lea that if she needs help, she can get away. Tom returns and dismisses the concerns, claiming mistaken identity.

    When
    During a meal
    Where
    Restaurant
  7. Lea's frustration and emotional withdrawal

    After Jared mocks her and Amber reveals her secret, Lea becomes distraught and visits Tom at his motel. He comforts her, professes love, and gives her a bracelet. He then asks her to go on vacation with him, which she agrees to eagerly.

    When
    Later that week
    Where
    Motel and surrounding areas
  8. Coercion into prostitution

    At a hotel, Tom asks Lea to sleep with another man for money, claiming she loves him. Coerced into sex with a middle-aged man, Lea becomes emotional and tries to leave. Tom catches her before she can escape, showing his controlling nature.

    When
    A night during their trip
    Where
    Hotel room
  9. Lea leaves the hotel after realizing she is in danger, calling Amber for help. She tearfully escapes to her friend's house, where she is comforted and begins to reconnect with her mother. She starts attempting to move past the trauma, focusing on safer relationships.

    When
    Following the hotel incident
    Where
    Lea's home
  10. Lea tries to contact Tom after his disappearance, but his number is disconnected. She visits the motel and learns from a tenant that Tom has gone. Heartbroken, she calls him on the phone, sobbing and asking why he left her, ending with her affirmations of love and hope for reconciliation.

    When
    A few days after leaving the hotel
    Where
    Motel and nearby location
  11. The film concludes with Lea expressing her feelings for Tom, smiling after hearing his loving responses on the phone. Despite the pain, she remains hopeful that their connection still exists, emphasizing her emotional vulnerability and desire for love and acceptance.

    When
    End of the movie

Last updated: August 05, 2025 at 06:59

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Timeline questions answered

Palm Trees and Power Lines Timeline Explained: Your Questions Answered

When does it happen, and why in that order? The questions people ask about the chronology of Palm Trees and Power Lines (2018): time jumps, flashbacks, cause and effect between scenes and the correct order of events, each answered with spoilers.

Q1

Why does Lea get in Tom's car after meeting him at the diner?

Lea agrees to get in Tom's car because she feels drawn to him after he rescued her from an uncomfortable situation with the cook at the diner. She's a vulnerable 17-year-old dealing with an emotionally distant mother and feelings of loneliness. Tom presents himself as charming and protective, offering her attention she craves. When he offers her a ride home, she's curious and flattered by the attention from an older man.

Foreshadowing: Earlier, Lea expresses dissatisfaction with her casual relationships with boys her age, hinting at her openness to seeking attention elsewhere.

  • Lea
  • Tom
  • grooming
  • diner
  • car ride
  • vulnerability
Q2

What warning does the waitress give Lea about Tom?

The waitress quietly pulls Lea aside while Tom is outside taking a call and warns her that Tom has been known to be involved with other young girls. She tells Lea that if she needs help, she can get away. The waitress recognizes the signs of a coercive relationship and attempts to warn Lea, but Tom returns before Lea can fully process the warning. Tom quickly dismisses the waitress's concerns as a case of mistaken identity.

Foreshadowing: This scene mirrors real-world situations where outsiders notice grooming patterns that the victim cannot yet see.

  • waitress
  • warning
  • Tom
  • young girls
  • mistaken identity
Q3

Why does Tom ask Lea to have sex with another man for money?

Tom coerces Lea into prostitution by manipulating her emotionally, telling her she must do it out of love for him. This is a classic exploitation tactic where the abuser creates a false test of loyalty to control the victim. Tom frames the request as something she must do to prove her love, exploiting Lea's emotional need for validation and her desire to feel valued. This represents the culmination of his grooming, isolating her from friends and family so she feels dependent on him.

Foreshadowing: Tom's earlier possessiveness ('you're mine') and his isolation of Lea from Amber foreshadow his willingness to control and exploit her.

  • Tom
  • prostitution
  • coercion
  • money
  • love
  • exploitation
  • vacation
Q4

How does Tom manipulate Lea throughout their relationship?

Tom uses several grooming tactics to manipulate Lea: he presents himself as understanding and sympathetic to her family struggles, gives her attention and gifts like the bracelet, professes love to make her feel special, isolates her from friends and family by saying their opinions don't matter, and gradually escalates his demands. He also maintains an air of mystery about his life and creates dependency by being available whenever she needs him. These psychological manipulation tactics are designed to gain trust and control.

Foreshadowing: Tom's initial intervention at the diner positions him as a protector, establishing a false sense of safety before the manipulation begins.

  • Tom
  • manipulation
  • grooming
  • tactics
  • control
  • psychological
Q5

Why does Lea stay with Tom even after the coercion into prostitution?

Lea struggles to leave because of the psychological hold Tom has developed through months of grooming. She feels emotionally dependent on him despite the trauma. When she finally attempts to leave during the encounter, Tom catches her, demonstrating his control. Her escape only happens when she finally finds a moment alone at a gas station and calls Amber. The emotional bond makes it difficult for her to break away immediately, which is realistic to how victims of manipulation often struggle to leave their abusers.

Foreshadowing: Lea's earlier rejection of Amber and her mother's concerns shows how completely Tom has isolated her from her support system.

  • Lea
  • Tom
  • stay
  • leave
  • abuse
  • trauma
  • emotional bond
Q6

What happens when Lea tries to leave Tom at the hotel?

During the coerced prostitution situation, Lea becomes emotionally overwhelmed and tries to leave the hotel room. However, Tom catches her before she can escape, physically preventing her from leaving. This moment demonstrates Tom's true nature, his control shifts from emotional manipulation to physical coercion when she attempts to break free. After this, Tom takes her to get food, giving Lea the opportunity she needs to flee to a gas station and call Amber for help.

Foreshadowing: This is the breaking point where Lea's emotional connection finally conflicts with her survival instinct.

  • Lea
  • hotel
  • leave
  • escape
  • catch
  • Tom
  • prostitution
Q7

Why does Lea call Tom after he disappears?

Lea calls Tom because despite everything he put her through, including coercing her into prostitution, she still has strong emotional feelings for him. This reflects the complex psychological hold an abuser can have on a victim, even after experiencing trauma. She visits the motel, learns from an upstairs tenant that Tom has left, and then uses the tenant's phone to reach him. On the call, she sobs and pleads to understand why he abandoned her, showing her emotional vulnerability remains even after physically escaping.

Foreshadowing: Her earlier resistance to her friends' criticism of Tom and her quick return to him after emotional moments foreshadowed this emotional dependency.

  • Lea
  • Tom
  • call
  • phone
  • disappear
  • abandonment
  • emotional
Q8

What does the ending of Palm Trees and Power Lines mean?

The ending shows Lea still emotionally entangled with Tom despite escaping his physical control. After sobbing and asking why he left her, she receives a call back from Tom, and she smiles while listening to his expressions of love. This ambiguous ending suggests she hasn't fully processed the trauma or recognized the abusive nature of their relationship. Her smile mixed with pain indicates unresolved feelings and the psychological difficulty of leaving an abusive situation, leaving viewers with a sense of worry rather than closure.

Foreshadowing: The entire film builds toward this moment where emotional manipulation has replaced clear-headed judgment, making the hopeful smile deeply troubling.

  • ending
  • final scene
  • Tom
  • Lea
  • smile
  • love
  • reconciliation
  • unresolved
Q9

Why is Lea vulnerable to Tom's manipulation?

Lea's vulnerability stems from multiple factors: her emotionally distant mother Sandra who prioritizes her own relationships over Lea's needs, her absent father living in Arizona with a new family, and her general feelings of loneliness despite having friends like Amber. She also finds her casual relationships with boys her age unfulfilling. Tom exploits these vulnerabilities by presenting himself as someone who truly understands her, creating a false sense of emotional connection that she desperately seeks.

Foreshadowing: The film opens with Lea feeling unfulfilled by typical teenage relationships, establishing her emotional void before Tom appears.

  • Lea
  • vulnerability
  • family
  • loneliness
  • mother
  • father
  • emotional needs
Q10

Why does Amber tell Jared about Lea's relationship with Tom?

Amber tells Jared about Tom because she's concerned about Lea and wants someone else to help convince her that the relationship is dangerous. However, this backfires when Jared mocks Lea publicly, calling Tom 'the geriatric,' which deeply humiliates her. Rather than seeking support from Amber after this incident, Lea runs to Tom for comfort, further isolating herself from her friend. This moment illustrates how good intentions can sometimes push vulnerable individuals further into their abuser's grip.

Foreshadowing: Amber's concern was valid, but the exposure triggers Lea's retreat into Tom's control.

  • Amber
  • Jared
  • secret
  • tell
  • reveal
  • mock

Movie threads

More Movies Like Palm Trees and Power Lines, by Mood & Story

Curated lists built around what makes Palm Trees and Power Lines tick: the same mood, the same kind of story or the same emotional payoff. Each list explains why these movies belong together.

Grim character studies of grooming like Palm Trees and Power Lines

Stories that methodically expose the psychological mechanics of exploitation. Movies like Palm Trees and Power Lines that explore the grim reality of grooming and manipulation. These similar drama stories often follow a straightforward, intense narrative with a dark tone, creating films about exploitation and emotional damage for viewers seeking this heavy subject matter.

  • unsettling
  • grim
  • oppressive
  • claustrophobic
  • anxious
  • somber
  • Tone: dark, unsettling, grim
  • Pacing: steady, methodical
Why these movies?

The story pattern: These narratives typically follow a straightforward, cause-and-effect path, methodically building a relationship to underscore the grooming process. The central conflict is internal and psychological, pitting a vulnerable individual against a manipulator, leading to a climax that forces a confrontation with the abuse.

Why they belong together: Movies are grouped here due to their shared dark tone, heavy emotional weight, and intense focus on the specific narrative pattern of grooming. They create a similarly unsettling and claustrophobic mood, prioritizing psychological realism over plot twists.

Isolating coming-of-age stories with slow burn dread like Palm Trees and Power Lines

Bleak tales of adolescent loneliness that spiral into tense danger. If you liked the slow burn dread and lonely teenage protagonist in Palm Trees and Power Lines, explore these similar movies. These coming-of-age dramas share a dark, somber tone, high intensity, and focus on stories of vulnerability, reckless decisions, and emotional damage.

  • lonely
  • anxious
  • somber
  • isolating
  • unsettling
  • grim
  • Tone: somber, dark, anxious
  • Pacing: steady, slow burn
Why these movies?

The story pattern: The narrative follows a lonely adolescent, often with absent parental figures, who makes a fateful connection that seems to offer escape. This choice initiates a steady descent, where the initial allure gives way to escalating tension and danger, forcing a painful awakening or costly escape.

Why they belong together: These films are united by their specific mood blend: a foundation of teenage loneliness and isolation, overlaid with a pervasive, slow-building anxiety and dread. They share a dark tone, heavy emotional weight, and a focus on the vulnerability and poor judgment that can characterize a difficult adolescence.

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Every angle

Palm Trees and Power Lines (2018) Explained: Plot, Timeline & Characters

Everything about Palm Trees and Power Lines in one place: what happens in the plot summary, the timeline in chronological order, the characters and meaning and a spoiler-free summary. What's After the Movie adds the cast, box office and post-credit scenes.

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