Actual People

Look out, here comes a new generation of American indie filmmakers; with distinctly more diverse casting than ever before, even a decade after Dunham's "Girls" and Greta Gerwig perfecting the genre and now helmihg the director's stick, "Actual People" puts on its predecessor's old proclivities for too-long dialogues, badly lit sets, unimaginative framing and hand-held cinematography. What used to actually mean something aesthetically 15-20 years ago, wears itself here like pure creative laziness. You only get glimpses of genuine originality through IG stories-like fragments, but they are far and too few to really give a feeling of intention.

Really enjoyed this film via Slamdance 2022.

I could really empathize with the main character and also was impressed that she wrote and directed the film.

Great work!

Debut feature of writer-director-star Kit Zauhar that follows young Riley, a philosophy student, surfing the challenges of becoming an adult while she is in her last year at the university.

The cinematography of the movie is very naturalistic with a handheld camera. Owing to its aimless quality, it feels more like a diary experimentation than a cohesive idea taking shape. According to Kit Zauhar, "the structure of the narrative is autobiographical, but the actual like events that feel in the timeline are for the most part not." In a Q&A, she explained she had a crazy last week at college that culminated in her going back to Philadelphia to pursue a man who was not interested in her.

In the movie Riley is often partying here and there with friends, in the apartment she shares with a man she spent one night with, talking to her therapist, or visiting her family. Zauhar uses TikTok-style fragments of videos intersected throughout the movie as a way to convey her generation or the experimental, independent spirit of the movie, although the result might be peculiar. Actual People is a movie that covers themes of an uncertain future, parental pressure, modern mores, and everything relating to young people of this generation. It tries to be humorous, but most of the time the humor feels forced and it isn't funny. The problem is that, although it takes form as it progresses, it still feels like watching pieces of videos disjointed. It has good moments here and there, especially the pants episode and the therapist session, but they never add up to a complete film.

I'm not the best at writing reviews... where to start? The film throws the viewer an extremely uncomfortable feeling for the first half, but compelling. Luckily it backs off from the young adult awkwardness in the second half, and ends on an uplifting note. I liked this balance.

The film definitely has a mumblecore feel to it, though it's obviously not mumblecore as it was well-scripted. Nevertheless, it's always refreshing to see these ultra realistic depictions of contemporary young adult angst. Also refreshing not to have white lead. The film feels a bit early 2010s, maybe because there's a notable absence of smartphones and feels pre-pandemic. Still, a lot of these experiences are timeless.

I personally hope she continues making more films like these.

The movie is so relatable to me and I really enjoyed the dialogue. There were some clever lines, as well as the raw awkwardness of their interactions. I see myself in Riley's character with college, friends from back home, parents, and the existential crisis of graduating and having to move on into the "adult world." The movie is a little slow, but it is funny and awkward and Riley's character is hilarious. Her final breakdown is so real and personal and she portrayed it so well. I loved the characters and the script. The movie gave me a warm comfy feeling and made me feel seen as a young POC post graduate with absolutely no idea what I'm doing :-)