‘The Royal Road’ is a Transfixing Autobiographical Film

Like Los Angeles Plays Itself by way of Ross McElwee, Jenni Olson’s The Royal Road surveys the landscape of Southern California as a way of exploring her past relationship troubles. That may sound like the sort of arty navel-gazing that many viewers are allergic to, but this is an utterly transfixing piece of work. The 16mm cinematography of Los Angeles…