This is a film all about the odd but beautiful sounds around you. Quirky and full of a hell of a lot of inspired passion, poser, directed by Ori Segev and Noah Dixen (who also wrote the film), is both compelling and sometimes comic as the world of Columbus, Ohio’s underground art and music scene absolutely comes alive, bursting with color and expression, during its running time.
The euphoric high of the movie, as one young woman descends into it via her podcast, reminds me of director Greg Harrisons’ criminally underrated Groove, which explored the underground rave scene of San Francisco back in 2000. Both films are full of blissful moments from the music scene yet turn dark thanks to the grit and the grime of warehouse scenes, sketchy venues, and the counterculture explored, which seems welcoming and chillingly poetic and oh so very destructive.
And it all seen through the eyes of a poser.
Lennon Gates (Sylvie Mix) records ambient sounds. It's just the thing she does. Everyone has their passions and sound - whether it be a couple fighting, a party. or the sound from within a record store - is hers. So, when she takes her wallflower ways toward the underground music scene in Columbus, Ohio and decides to record a podcast, she finds herself interviewing local artists who don’t wish to be classified by genres.
Through this access to the underground scene, Lennon discovers her own musical ambitions and, as a result, develops a fast friendship with the striking, confident performer Bobbi Kitten, who plays a version of her own persona. The process of discovery - or is it manipulation? - creates an identity which is not wholly her own. Soon, Lennon’s aspirations, with some constructive coaxing from Bobbi to find her voice, lead her down a path of dark obsession where she feels like she must do more and be more than who she is.
Featuring performances from Abdul Seidu, Rachel Keefe, and Z-Wolf, poser takes its time with its development of Lennon’s own voice and, in doing so, provides cinematographer Logan Floyd with plenty of opportunities to bring us into Lennon’s world where the random anecdote mingles with the here-and-now sensibility of her own wide-eyed influences. poser is a film which strikes strong chords of truth thanks to poetic images and its own reflective nature.
But is Lennon just a poser, which - honestly - the audience might feel like while watching this movie. There is a dark truth at work here, thanks to the journal Lennon always takes with her, and in its pages a revelation that will leave you doubting all that you’ve just seen about her journey as the scene shifts right from under her.
Oscilloscope Laboratories presents poser in select theaters this Friday.
MPAA Rating: Unrated.
Runtime: 87 mins
Director: Ori Segev, Noah Dixon
Writer: Noah Dixon
Cast: Sylvie Mix, Bobbi Kitten, Abdul Seidu, Rachel Keefe, Z-Wolf
Genre: Drama
Tagline:
Memorable Movie Quote:
Distributor: Oscilloscope Laboratories
Official Site: https://poser.oscilloscope.net/
Release Date: In Theaters in New York and Los Angeles on June 17th ; Nationwide expansion to follow
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date: August 20, 2019.
Synopsis: Wallflower Lennon Gates (Sylvie Mix) yearns for access to the inner sanctum of the underground music scene in Columbus, Ohio. When she creates a podcast to interview the local artists she adores, Lennon discovers her own musical ambitions, develops a fast friendship with the striking, confident performer Bobbi Kitten, and in the process creates an identity not wholly her own. Soon, Lennon’s aspirations, with some constructive coaxing from Bobbi to find her voice, lead her down a path of dark obsession.
