This short threw me for a loop a couple of times as I started watching it. The film opens with a garish filter. Shot in closeup, a woman and a man discuss faking orgasms. Not recognizing the dialogue, I was turned off by the cliche, thinking it to be a When Harry Met Sally knockoff, only to find out that it was the dialogue from When Harry Met Sally! Suddenly a cut. The camera minus the filter, zooms in on a new face—is it a director? No it turns out to be a teacher in front of an acting class. The man and woman are performing an excerpt from the movie as an exercise. Oh, I’m watching a documentary! This is some famous acting-coach who will impart wisdom about the craft. Yaaaaaawn. But I was wrong again. I notice the camera-work is a little too precise, in that way that the Office fakes its handheld documentary style. So I finally went and read the film description. Yup, 100% acting.

Though caught off guard, I was hardly entertained through this early confusion. Still if you make it past the first 4 minutes the film starts to sink its teeth in a little deeper. The teacher is energetic and demonstrative in that way actors always seem to be, but in his efforts to reach and unlock the girl’s acting talent his behavior becomes questionable. Creepiness and uncomfortableness emerge, suggesting some impropriety without necessarily ever going over the edge. By the time the girl cries, my only surprise was that it took so long.

So on the one hand the film makes you as the viewer uncomfortable, so congratulations are in order for making an effective film, but watching someone in a position of power act like a jackass is hardly entertainment in my book. It does speak to the influence and control of teachers, especially in a profession like acting where so much of one’s person is put on the line, and maybe if I was an actor and had experience in these types of settings the film would resonate more deeply. But I don’t and it doesn’t.

Ultimately in staging a personal and uncomfortable situation in a group setting, the film is wildly successful in its aims and like most of these Sundance films it is certainly crafted well. I just don’t know if those aims were worthwhile.

A Sundance 10/10 film: now online!