Starring: Amy Everson, Kentucker Audley, Ryan Creighton, Elisabeth Ferrera, Brendan Miller.
Director: Jason Banker.
A friend of mine turned me onto this film, stating that she generally liked it. I became a little less enthused when I discovered it was Jason Banker, the director of the abysmal Toad Road. But, as always, gotta keep an open mind and try to give it a fair shake. But I absolutely HATED Toad Road. Like, a lot. Violently. Cannot stress enough how much I despised that film, you guys.
Okay, so depressed girl in a frog costume discussing how she can't get over trauma moping about in a room. This is gonna be a cheery movie. I can tell. Just a bag full of hilarity. Wonder if it's too late to just watch The Final Girls again. I'm on, like, two hours of sleep and I'm not really sure I'm up to something this heady. But, I'm committed now. I'm in the shit. Let's do this.
Oh, good. Director Jason Banker has fallen back on his brilliant strategy of showing idiot kids drinking together. That worked so well for the ninety-percent of Toad Road that it represented. At least this time the scene was brief and, hopefully, will not be repeated. I already know that I'm being far too biased towards this thing. I legitimately do hate people talking over one another, though: it doesn't feel as naturalistic as I think most directors think it is.
Yeah, cheerful movie. Our lead, Amy, goes on a date with a real creep who basically encapsulates every dickhead stereotype. I'm okay with this, really, because I know there are men out there who think in that sort of terrifyingly awful state of mind ("Roofies aren't real" is a terrible thing to say, and even worse thing to joke about). There are some nice visual flourishes here and there: Amy's use of costumes as coping mechanisms is clearly demonstrating a psychological downward spiral, but it's interesting to look at even when it threatens to veer off into needlessly provocative territory.
It's definitely a very weird film, and does do a pretty good job of showing how people are occasionally forced to respond to mental illness: as Amy wears a creepy masculine mask and begins to stick her tongue out at her friend, the friend is understandably creeped out(and that scene was necessary, because I was actually about to begin discussing how movies never seem to be able to present people as being able to respond to mentally ill individuals in any sort of honest way, particularly after some of her friends can't handle Amy's lack of response during a low point). The fact that the scene is also used to show that Amy communicates best when in her costumes-being able to voice her concerns about her friends shitty boyfriend, for example-which gives some much needed context.
The trouble mostly comes from that Amy is somewhat difficult to understand or relate to for an audience member. Obviously her issues stem from deep-seated trauma, which is something we can sympathize with, but can't fully understand. We can kind of get behind her attempts to make men uncomfortable-sometimes with more hostility than might be needed-and can sympathize with that, too...but truly understanding and relating to it? It's kind of difficult. There's not a lot of scene cohesion, either: just kind of random stuff that happens. That lack of cohesive narrative and Amy's hostility do make it kind of difficult to find anything to root for or hold onto, which mars the emotional resonance of her burgeoning relationship with a man who seems to be nice, respectful and remarkably understanding. I mean, he's gonna fuck it up. He kind of has to. Or she will, I suppose. One way or another, this is gonna get weird.
Since we can't quite grasp this romance for the aforementioned reasons, it's hard to be worried about her losing that romance as a result of her problems, which is almost certainly going to happen. Knowing that makes me kinda wish I could care about it.
Amy Everson is giving a great performance, especially (as the DVD box and IMDB tell me) considering that this is the first time she's ever been in a film. She also apparently co-wrote it with Banker, so there's that.
I feel like this movie is both muddled and preachy...and it makes me feel kind of horrible to criticize it in that way because, well, it's absolutely right in the thesis it's presenting. Male privilege is most definitely a thing, Women are not treated super well socially, and all the movie is doing is outright saying that. It's a message I absolutely support. I know it's a thing, I know that I have it and so while I feel like I'm being objective about the movie's heavy-handedness and mopey certainty...I feel like kind of a jerk. Which is kind of the point, I guess, so...bravo? Right?
It almost appears that Felt is beyond criticism in a way. It's difficult to notice the movies flaws and NOT feel like a shitheel as a result. I know that I'm finding it harder and harder to really know what to make it as things progress. I suppose I could focus on other things than it's message: Banker keeps the camera moving(usually handheld), creating a sense of unease to every frame, as well as presenting a very "lived-in" feel to the world around the characters. It's also very intimate in style as well: the camera moves in uncomfortably close, moves over body parts at turns quickly and painfully slowly, and it feels very voyeuristic even while it avoids aggression. No small feat, really, considering the subject matter. I think at times that the film WANTS to violate something, but it seems to shy away before it ever really makes it to that stage...or, at times, thinks it HAS been violative even when it hasn't been.
Well, okay, no sooner did I write that when it finally went for a real sense of aggression. It...didn't entirely work. I don't want to spoil the ending-I think it might be a rather necessary film for gender politics, and as such I respect it too much to just outright ruin it for potential viewers-but it didn't really feel as earned as I think it wanted it to be. Suitably shocking, I suppose, just kind of flat.
Final Thoughts: I'm not sure there's much to add. Banks does some strong stuff with the camera but lets narrative cohesion and natural flow just fly out the window, possibly with the justification of this movie being "about life"(which is a lazy directorial attitude that is far too frequently assumed by a lot of younger directors with a sense of their film's own "importance") and never manages to really gather interest: there certainly isn't any suspense or real tension, despite frequent intimations that there should be. Actress Amy Everson gives a strong performance(especially for a first timer), the message is a little TOO clear but is certainly one that should be noticed, and it manages to keep some sort of moral high ground by keeping that message entirely out of the subtext. As mentioned earlier, it's difficult to criticize a lot of this film on any meaningful level without feeling anti-feminist, which is obviously part of the point: it can't be ignored or dismissed, even when it's being irritating. Structurally it's a mess, it's far too mopey and meandering(to the point of being regrettably dull) to endearing but not intense or surreal enough to earn that slow and steady pace. It's all at once an important and impressive film even when it's being basically unwatchable, which is impressive all on it's own.
Final Rating: Gonna split the difference and call it a 3 Star Flick.
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