Excess Flesh (2015) [Fantasia Film Festival]

EXCESS_5

FANTASIA FILM FESTIVAL

Jill moved to Los Angeles to start her career and now lives with her friend Jennifer who she has known for a while. Jill is a bit of a shut in, not finding work, slowly falling into depression. Jennifer is a working model and a party girl who is obnoxious and mean to Jill. Jill keeps trying to get Jennifer to pay attention to her, to be her friend, but Jennifer has better things to do. Jill just wants her friend as she knew her, understanding and supportive. Jennifer is being anything but. As things escalate, Jennifer becomes flat out abusive, sleeps with the man Jill was interested in, and treats Jill like a lesser person in general. The more Jill does to be liked, the less Jennifer respects her. That is until Jill cracks, she breaks down mentally, and goes batshit insane. She chains Jennifer in her room and tortures her more sadistically as her insanity reaches new levels.

The characters start off feeling a bit caricatural, especially Jennifer, but as the movie advances, both Jill and Jennifer flesh out and become more human. One (Jill) a bit pathetic it seems and the other (Jennifer) a mean girl who may be lashing out due to past trauma. The characters were either written this way or acted this way at first and then they evolved to become less in your face just in time for Jill to lose her mind and imprison Jennifer. From then on, both characters are believable and well acted. Not knowing if what came before that was done on purpose or not, I will not judge that part for the acting or writing as I believe the rest of the movie makes up for it. The two lead actresses feed off of each other in their closed quarter scenes very well, showing off their own and the other’s talent by looking like they are actually the torturer and the victim.

Bethany Orr shows Jill’s evolution from sweet and desperate to crazy and deranged without going too over the top at any moment. She shows a very high range of emotions, while keeping the character grounded in reality. Orr lets go of the worry most actresses would have, given the nudity involved and how the character is portrayed as the less of the two roommates, the ones with the obvious body image issues, the bulimia, the controlled friend at first. Then, after Jill loses her mind, she shows a stronger, albeit crazy, personality, pushing her boundaries and Jennifer’s while showing a strong side. Mary Loveless as Jennifer starts off a with the more bitchy character, the one who can be flat out mean, making her feel a bit exaggerated as first. This model is abusive and violent, she shows no mercy. Loveless shows a strong character who may be hiding something. That is until the power shift, and then she shows vulnerability after a while of being tortured with food. Her performance becomes more nuanced and less in your face as the movie advances.

These characters, and the supporting ones we see very little of, were created by Writer/Director Patrick Kennelly for who this is the first feature length project in either position. He created these with Writer Sigrid Gilmer for who this is a first credit overall. Consider this and the strength of the script and directing, they both are on the path to doing great things. The writers either know very well the pressures put on women to look good and to have a life and career at the same time or they did their research as these aspects of the characters and how they affect the girls differently is very well developed and fairly realistic, even given some of the more outrageous scenes. The writing also considers the girls’ personalities and how to make all they do and say gel as fully fleshed human characters. Without this writing, the actresses work would have been much harder to get these characters to where they are in the movie.

The movie has a disturbing subject matter, but there is very little direct horror elements: no gore, not much blood at all, no big scares. However, parts of it can be considered horrifying as the things said and done by the girls to one another are not nice or sweet in any way past a certain point in the movie. This film doesn’t hold back, it shows the lead going off the deep end in detail, from being a shut it, to sadness, loneliness, bargaining, then her acceptance that her friend will not help her which leads to her just forcing her friend to be as she wants her to be.

Excess Flesh is a well crafted, somewhat claustrophobic movie that builds tension and will make some people uncomfortable. It is not for everyone, but if you are not afraid to be a bit squirmish, you should check it out when it does eventually come out near you.