"You wouldn't lie to me, would you?"
Profile follows a British journalist going undercover and infiltrating the digital propaganda channels of the so-called Islamic State, which has been mobilizing ever greater numbers of women from Europe. Her daily Internet contacts with an ISIS recruiter gradually pull her in and push the limits of her investigation. The makers of this have been hyping it up ever since the announcement of its release. Technically, it is a wide release, but I don't think I've seen it playing anywhere. Fortunately, I received a screener and watched it on a whim. The movie has a lot going for it. The story is quite interesting. It's inspired by a true story which makes it all the more crazy and intense. This is a really intense movie especially with how fast it goes by. There were times where I found myself on the edge of my seat waiting to see what move was to be played next. Valene Kane as Amy is really good. This is the first I've seen her in a lead role, but she carries the whole thing. She has to have two different personas-one personal and one for her interviews- but slowly they mold into one. Amy is a developed character. I wish the others were a bit more. Shasad Latif's character does have a good amount of development, and it works it the favor of the message and script. But with the twists and turns, it's dulled down to the obvious.
All of this is good, except one major thing. With the success of Unfriended and Searching, Profile utilizes the computer screen format. In some cases this does work in creating the anxiety. Honestly, though, all it does is limit the potential. Like I said, there's so much working for it, but that just doesn't always work. So many side plots are either not talked about enough to understand, or just dropped entirely. For example, there's a relationship and we hardly know a thing. The thought was there, but the execution kind of drew away from all the good. The conclusion didn't really feel like much of one. It had a chance to end on a different note to add more tension, but it ended just 10 minutes later. For almost every good thing, there's a disappointing aspect just around the corner. I will say I did enjoy Profile. It's not one I feel like revisiting, but with the direction by Timur Bekmambetov it's promising to those who are interested. And who knows, maybe someone will appreciate the computer screen aspect.
