Beauty & the Beholder

Dr. Joseph Nieman the central figure of the story and its narrator is a plastic surgeon of great acclaim but has toxic beliefs about beauty that he sometimes (most of the time) carelessly unloads onto his patients. As the movie proceeds he realizes his insecurities caused by his childhood and proceeds to work on them when he meets a woman who refuses his sales pitch of plastic surgery and stars to like her for showing him a mirror and making him reflect about what he is doing wrong. He works on his insecurities and hopes that with her by his side he can battle them with ease ,but all too soon realizes that life is never that easy.

One of the main themes of this movie is beauty and how toxic it has become in the view of society feeding on the insecurities of individuals and how this has become a profitable opportunity for a few. I personally come from an environment where natural beauty is very valued but people around me are of various cultures and beliefs so everyone around me holds a very different perception of beauty from each other. The only reason I find any one around me is unsatisfied with their looks is because they get easily influenced by social media etc. And are unable to realize that no one other than themselves in real life really cares about how they look, the movie made me realize how deep a persons simple insecurity can run if they are not made aware of this fact like Stella.

The movies end is quite ambiguous and as I didn't quite understand it iIinterpret the movie in a light I want to see it in which is, optimistic.

Okay..this film is pretty solid...but..I just needed a little bit more. I loved the FIRST and THIRD ACT of the film, however the 2nd act wasa missing something. It seemed to be little rushed and doesn't quite develop naturally. It could be because of the lack of budget or inexperience of writing. The direction of the film was dexterously executed and characters are likeable. I just needed that Act 2 to be stronger, never the less the little indie film is a hidden gem, that I recommend people to check out.

Thus film is fairly on point with narcissism. It speaks volumes to about how society is so focused on perception and not what's inside. I will admit I was a bit thrown off when I saw straight snorting coke scenes but other than that it was a decent movie.

Okay. This movie.. It actually really does have a great message. If you are going to watch it, I recommend you ignore pretty much all of the first act. I spent the entire time watching the first 20 minutes or so, rolling my eyes and "ugh"ing. BUT, the second half left me pretty invested in the main characters growth and the love story developing. I wish we had a lot more of this in the movie. The movie is very very VERY low budget. But I think it was done okay.

Critiques: I don't think the movie needed the vulgar or soft p**n scenes, it added nothing to the story. I skipped them actually. I didn't care for the twist at the end. I would have rather the story just went on as it was going.

Other than that, I felt that the main character went from very hated in my mind to rooting for his growth and change. And that's a very good thing. I just wish he would have been better to the people around him. Especially Alana. And that we had more closure than what was given (his addiction, why did he receive the glass, what now for Lana and him?, what are the details of his life now?)

The writing and performances really drew me in to this film at the start, when it plays as a very cutting attack on the world of plastic surgery. Once the film has its feet under the table and has your attention, it switches to a fascinating will-they/won't-they love story, as our hero thinks he may have finally found "the one". Really absorbing and definitely recommended.