Drama - East End Film Festival (preview)

Struggling actress Anna is at the end of her tether. Still reeling from a recent breakup with dial-a-scumbag John and a failed audition, she packs up and heads for Paris to spend a few days with her gay best friend, Jean. Meanwhile, John is in Paris on business and Jean’s relationship with Philippe is going sour. So far so common or garden chick flick. But director Sophie Mathisen, who also plays Anna, eschews the usual hysterical escalations and slapstick and instead gives the space and time for moments between the various characters to unravel, allowing us to see them as much more than the grating clichés they could so easily be.

From Anna’s desperate attempts to rekindle the romance with an obviously disdainful John to Jean’s growing, nerve-wracking annoyance at Philippe, the film is rife with moments that make for uncomfortable viewing; a credit to Sophie’s work in this understated, sharply-observed and genuinely enjoyable tragicomedy.

Dir: Sophie Mathisen, 2014

Drama will be screened as part of the East End Film Festival at the Genesis Cinema on 8 July 2015. Followed by a Q&A. More info here.