The Slamdance Film Festival runs Digitally and In-Person from January 19th to January 28th.
Director Ivan Aase’s “Complications” is a movie that’s begging to be turned in to a feature. I’d love to see more movies about the lives of sex workers and director Aase takes down this uneasy avenue in to an interesting tale about loneliness and companionship. Anna Laagegard is great as dominatrix Lotte, a young gorgeous woman who dominates middle aged Arne every week over a web camera.
When he suddenly keels over from a heart attack during their session, she rushes to get emergency services to his home. Along the way, their session sparks a bit of self reflection on how she’s dealing with not just her everyday life, but also her struggles with loneliness and wanting to please her parents. She’s an average person beneath the leather and she begins to ponder on her decisions and if she’s making a positive or negative effect on the people in her life.
No matter what Lotte does, she realizes that people can never seem to change; this becomes especially evident when she meets up with Arne again, prompting a potential shifting of her life. “Complications” ends on a difficult note, but one that might arouse a smile from the audience. In either case, it’s a nice little peek in to humanity that I quite enjoyed.