Stress Positions

Watched this at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival.

Filmmaker Theda Hammel clearly has an interesting satire concept but unfortunately despite good performances and interesting fun dialogue moments, the messy narrative and annoying and unpleasant characters create a more unsatisfying story.

Hammel's use of satire during the pandemic, people, and gender is interesting as there are some good camerawork and production designs used throughout. The performance from John Early was pretty good as he has lots of wonderful energy. However, Hammel really provides some really unlikable characters that whether they were intentionally annoying, it felt forced and really stressful to observe. As if each character is purposefully made to be as unlikeable and annoying to care.

Sorry but I would say I wanted to laugh but I only had a few moments and the rest of the humor was pretty bad. There are some good musical choices and I did like some of the insane moments during the third act. But at the end, it honestly felt as the movie went nowhere really.

I think Theda Hammel has talents but here, sorry, not for me.

As the title stated i think the constant tension, discomfort and very specific sense of humor will turn a lot of people off and if you don't like the first 20 minutes you probably won't love the rest but i truly think this is one of the most creative comedies ever written, with superb character development and a massive amount of trust placed in the audience without feeling the need to handhold. I've loved theda's podcast for a long time and this film feels both like a long time coming and the first major glimpse into her creative vision and i couldn't be more excited for what she does next. Her and john early's chemistry is unreal.

I was fortunate enough to watch this movie yesterday and I can't stop thinking about it! I loved the frantic pacing of Terry juxtaposed by the soft voice over pacing of Bahlul. My favorite was the dialogue scenes between the characters. Theda my or may not love this comparison but it reminded me of early Kevin Smith films. Very dense, quickly paced dialogue. I found it so refreshing, smart and hysterical. The only problem I have with the movie is that I now have to wait for a wider release to be able to watch it again. I can't wait to watch it again and again. It's a movie that needs multiple viewings as it is so rich and dense. I know there's a million things I missed. I feel that Theda Hammel is a genius and I'm so grateful to live in a world with her in it.

It would have worked on a simply comedic and slapstick level, but Theda's vision and John Early's excellent performance made this work on a deeply felt artistic level. I was laughing the whole time but felt surprisingly changed and moved by the end of the film. I was previously rather unfamiliar with Theda (my boyfriend is a huge fan of her podcast) and now I will keep an eye out for anything else she does.

There's something about Theda's sensibilities that are both claustrophobic and expansive, both realistic and surreal, and these contrasts work together to create a sense of movement and dynamism.