There ended up being no Q&A because of unexpected travel issues, which was a bummer, I was looking forward to it. I'm a fan of Imogen Poots, and I was curious to see what Kristen Stewart would be like behind the camera. I kind of think of her in the same category as Jesse Eisenberg, actor whose directorial debuts interest me, and I thought her film would do the same.
This was actually my first time at the Angelika Theatre. The auditorium we were in was pretty small. The auditorium size didn't bother me, not the smallest I've been in, but the seats were a problem. I had to squeeze into them, and it was uncomfortable enough that I'll probably avoid screenings in that room if I can.
As for the movie itself, I found it unnecessarily experimental to its own detriment. Very trippy, very stylized. While it ambitiously tackles heavy themes like trauma, abuse, amorosity and addiction(felt like a project Stewart would naturally tackle), its trippy style felt overdone and poorly executed. The film dragged and often felt like it was trying really hard to appear bold or whatever but instead I found myself fighting boredom.
Maybe it lands better if you relate personally to the characters and what they're going through. The acting was alright but the filmmaking choices weren't for me. I never felt invested in the characters or her journey. The constant stylistic choices overshadowed the story, which could have been told better in a more straightforward manner. I didn't realize it was autobiographical going in, and the narrative choices made it a strange approach for a personal story.
I can imagine some people liking it, but I walked out with the same feeling I had after "I Saw the TV Glow(2024)". Totally different films, but they share that vibe of being gimmicky to me, trying to be more profound than they actually are, and in the end kinda boring.
