Chemical Cut

A perfect example of what a 'budget' movie can achieve with a first class director and writers.

Director/writer: Marjorie Conrad has created a story of an immature young girl wanting something out of her life she slowly discovers that she is woefully unprepared to meet. Everyone, even her best friend, talks down to her which only feeds her insecurities.

Conrad has created a visually abstract and lonely environment for the main character's journey into the 'modeling' world and it cold reception for the nobodies knocking at it's door.

People give it low ratings , mostly women, because it makes them uncomfortable about their experiences as an aspiring whatever but I like the honesty and also the kind of admission that her issues are because of her lofty expectations, not someone who stays in reality or is built for the long haul like the chubby friend who smokes weed in this instance. Happiness and finding yourself isn't about a career or money or car as all these "aspiring" women eventually find out, sooner or later. Stay grounded and work slowly towards your goals and make the best of the journey. Life really isnt harder than that

Wow, this is a brilliant freshman effort from Conrad, who apparently was on Top Model and decided to disillusion the rest of us with this darkly funny and disturbing portrait piece. It was both heartbreaking and hilarious at times, and truly gets under your skin if, like me, you can relate to being a naive newcomer to an industry that aggressively whitewashes its depravity.

As an American independent film I was amazed. Most independent film that comes from America is overly abrasive and circumvents any true approach to film as an art. European film tends to be more artistic, and it might simply be a cultural thing for our film to elicit thought instead of relaying on cheap "thrills" and visual chaos. Despite the brighter lighting and taking place in California, I would classify this as my own coined term "euphoric film noir". The subtle darkness establishes an intrinsic connection to the characters without force. The greater brightness balances this, but cannot be accurately described as "light". Seeing that this is very hard to establish in any film, this is a real achievement for a first feature film. I can recommend this for the European crowd looking to find an American film that doesn't seem very American.

I'll start by saying this looked like something I could watch passively, but the film was engrossing and surprising. It seemed like a hybrid of genres that I hadn't seen before, sort of a 'soft-satire' and cautionary tale for millennials. I fall into the age bracket this is targeting, I guess, but I really do think this film is relatable no matter what your age is. There are a lot of dark comedic moments, some visual transitions that are unexpected. Overall I found a lot of meaning and heart in the film and can tell a lot of time was put into this. This is very accomplished, especially as a first feature. I do hope to see more in the future from this director.