Sam (Rachel Sennott) is depressed. Dissociated and disconnected, she spends her days rotting in bed, microwaving cold cuts, and searching for her name on Twitter. Never mind taking the stage at Toronto's Comedy Bar, where she used to titillate audiences with her material about sex, dating, shopping and periods. Sam can't even leave the house.
She doesn't feel weird anymore. Her brain is too busy with PTSD. Her roommates Paige and Philip (Sabrina Jalees and Caleb Hearon) are understanding but tired; Her ex-boyfriend Noah (Ennis Esmer) is confused and sad. To make matters worse, Brooke (Olga Petsa), the teenager Sam used to babysit, has been reported missing. The last time Sam saw her was when Brooke showed up at her door after throwing a rock through her window in a drunken state, calling her a liar.
This is the situation we find ourselves in at the beginning of director Ally Pankiw's “I Used to Be Funny,” a story of trauma, catharsis and stand-up comedy. Through a jarring non-linear narrative composed of flashbacks, memories and the harsh reality of the present, we make our way through Sam's broken psyche to piece together the puzzle of what happened. Unfortunately, it's almost too obvious from the start.
Sennott, who got her start in stand-up but has become an independent film darling with genre-spanning films like “Shiva Baby,” “Bodies Bodies Bodies” and “Bottoms,” has proven she can hold her own. as an actress. actor. And “I Used to Be Funny” is her most dramatically demanding role yet. It's a stretch and she just nails it, but she proves that she can carry a film as an emotional anchor in a role that requires a wide range.
The film is a study of characters in contrasts, glimpsed in moments over the course of a few years. Sam, bedridden and dead-eyed, is a far cry from the quiet young woman who interviews for an au pair job with a Toronto police officer, Cameron (Jason Jones), to care for his 12-year-old daughter Brooke. years, while his mother is at home. hospitalized with a terminal illness. Although Brooke is too old to be a babysitter or babysitter, Sam becomes a crucial presence in her life: a big sister, a friend, and sometimes a surrogate mother.
In flashbacks, Sam's nonchalant charisma conveys a relaxed and confident young woman, but in Sennott's performance, we can see the careful effort made to keep this outward demeanor charming, reassuring, and placating to those around her, especially the men. She wants to show that she can hold her own, that she's funny, that she deserves attention, but this kind of humorous reassurance is also a survival mechanism, a safety strategy that women have perfected over years of socialization.
Sam used to joke in her group that her flirtatious dating move was to make men pinky promise not to murder her. Minimizing violence against women is part of her act, castrating her power, denaturalizing the sting. She is then paralyzed by the actual violence and Pankiw slowly reveals the events to us, while Sam becomes more willing to open her mind to the memory of her, facing her demons simply because she can't do anything else.
Pankiw has been perfecting his original script for over a decade, and while some of the plot veers into heightened melodrama within a lo-fi indie setting, the writing itself is insightful, incisive, and authentic. Sam's guilt over her condition is deeply identifiable, believing himself unworthy of kindness and love. Casting real comedians like Sennott, Jalees, Hearon and Esmer also creates dialogue that feels funny, and their irrepressible riffs are a natural part of their conversations. And Petsa, a fantastic young actor, deftly matches Sennott in navigating the emotional rollercoaster of this complicated story.
“I Used to Be Funny” maintains its bold visual style, with understated but charming cinematography by Nina Djacic. Formal experimentation is relegated to the editing and structure of the story, which unfolds in irregular ellipticals, imitating a mercurial and disturbed mind. Many uncomfortable ideas are explored in Sam's comedy, a masterful way for Pankiw to address these topics. In his feature film debut, he delivers a complete and satisfying narrative arc that's anchored by a surprisingly complex performance from Sennott. Rooted in a specific sense of place, character and emotional truth. The film is a rare independent gem worth discovering.
Walsh is a film critic for the Tribune News Service.
'I used to be fun'
Not qualified
Execution time: 1 hour, 45 minutes
Playing: In limited release on Friday, June 7 at Laemmle Monica, West Los Angeles; The Frida Cinema, Santa Ana
