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In the title role, Madison is a blistering force of nature, a young woman who doesn't accept abuse from anyone. Her quick thinking continually turns situations on end, and yet there's a yearning quality underneath her bravado. This gives her chemistry with Eydelshteyn's blithely entitled good-time boy a real kick: we vividly feel their mutual affection. Karagulian and Tovmasyan are terrific as Vanya's Armenian minders, while Borisov adds revelatory textures in his quietly evolving role as the observant Igor.

Refreshingly, Baker keeps even the most outrageous scene grounded in honesty, which gives the film a blast of energy, never flinching from Ani's pole-dancing expertise or Vanya's sex-and-drugs lifestyle. This allows the characters to become much more than they would ever be in a studio-made movie, offering more powerful resonance even in heart-stopping sequences like Garnick and Igor's expertly staged initial confrontation with Ani. As a result, the film becomes an especially involving exploration of the quest for love and identity.

themes, language, violence, sexuality

10.Oct.24

Jean-Baptiste is electrical on-screen, a nonstop flurry of vitriol that's both exhausting to watch and eerily heartfelt. Many of her targets are causes of everyday aggravation that anyone in the audience can readily identify with, but Pansy's relentlessly harsh reactions expose her underlying thoughts and feelings. This trickles into her beautifully played interaction with Austin, Webber, Barrett and others, so each character emerges as a person with vivid agency all their own.

There isn't much of a narrative here, as the film is tracing Pansy's internal journey without any obvious signposts. There are no contrived events or melodramatic encounters, even though the emotions remain fairly high throughout. It's in Leigh's sensitive direction and Jean-Baptiste's layered performance that the story emerges, refreshingly resisting the usual pressure to resolve everything in a neat and tidy way. Instead the film leaves us with a lot to chew on.

themes, language

12.Oct.24

Because scenes have very little nuance, characters never become very sympathetic. McCaffrey has offhanded appeal in the lead role, especially as he so haplessly dives into his daily adventures. He also creates some nice energy with both Hindle's sardonic Jade and Benton as Tim's nice-guy dad. There are some up-for-it actors in side roles along the way, and some of them find ways to add some spark.

This is the kind of movie that reminds us how easy it is for anyone to make a film with the germ of a good idea. The problem here is that the script never makes much of its characters or a narrative that actually has potential to be both amusing and topical. Surprising touches relate to government corruption and artificial intelligence, which add a hint of interest without developing meaningfully. Instead, it's simply an amiably dopey way to pass 75 minutes.

themes, language, sexuality

27.Oct.24