It’s 1969, and six­teen-year-old Lucy is about to run away with a much old­er man to live off-the-grid in rur­al Penn­syl­va­nia, a rash act that will have vicious reper­cus­sions for both her and her old­er sis­ter, Char­lotte. As Lucy’s default care­tak­er for most of their lives, Char­lot­te’s youth has been marked by the bur­den of respon­si­bil­i­ty, but nev­er more so than when Lucy’s dream of a rur­al par­adise turns into a nightmare.

Cru­el Beau­ti­ful World exam­ines the intri­cate, infin­i­tes­i­mal dis­tance between seduc­tion and love, loy­al­ty and duty, and explores what hap­pens when you’re respon­si­ble for things you can­not make right. Car­o­line Leav­itt mes­mer­izes in this haunt­ing, nuanced por­trait of love, sis­ters, and the impos­si­ble lega­cy of family.