Charlie XCX is compelling as this version of herself but much like similar projects I'm Still Here and The Nowhere Inn there's a bit of frustration in that who she actually is is still unknown. This 'character' is all artifice, this plot is all artifice and as a result any kind of artistic truth is hard to parse. The supporting cast is talented- Rosanna Arquette(love to see her), Alexander Skarsgård, Hailey Gates- to name a few. But the plot they all inhabit is all pretty meager and it appears much of the dialogue was improvised which gives the whole thing a pretty stilted feel.
Visually the film is rich with striking, colorful, intriguing imagery there's just not a ton under the surface. And there's a kind of a stunning lack of music. The production all works but there's ultimately just not much of a coherent vison for it to bolster up. There's feints at commenting about image, commercialism, and artistic vs. financial success but when you boil it down the film has no answers. For Charlie XCX fans that may be more than enough but as a standalone piece of cinema, much like last year's Pavements, there's not a ton for the uninitiated to enjoy.
Ambitious if underbaked.
Currently in theaters.
Stream It.
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