SXSW FILM REVIEW: Brazilian drama My Drywall Cocoon stylishly reduces its characters to metaphors.
“You live in a pink-colored world,” the disillusioned teenager Gabriel tells his wealthy childhood friend Virginia at her 17th birthday celebration. And while on the surface her opulent debutante bash in a lush São Paulo penthouse glows like neon, not all that glitters is rose gold.
Jumping back and forth between the night of the party and the day after, Brazilian film and SXSW 2023 selectionfrom writer-director Caroline Fioratti opens on bruises scattered along Virginia’s exposed shoulders. Her mother , preparing her for the evening, doesn’t seem to notice the blood-red blemishes. Cut to the cool tones of morning, tears streaming down Mendonça’s petrified face as she grapples with the news of her daughter’s death.
What begins as a melancholy who-or-what-dunit slowly morphs into a cathartic exploration of unspoken crises. The baby-faced guests, including a reluctant Gabriel, Virginia’s arrogant but quietly insecure boyfriend Nicolas , and her aloof friend Luana , trade such menacing glances that even the steady flow of aperol can’t lighten up. Like a soap opera noir, the unsupervised teens unravel as the night creeps toward the inevitable tragedy.
Tight shots framed inside the cramped condo forces an immense feeling of claustrophobia, which is reflected in the guarded worldview of these upper-class high schoolers. Taboo runs amok in this society, and the walls never come down. It takes the death of a 17-year-old for anyone to open up about the repression they reinforce. And boy is that a cynical outlook.
Although Fioratti’s Cocoon is stylistically concise, the sprawling themes of surveillance, chauvinism, and class privilege are never fully fleshed out. Each character seems to be a microcosm of some social problem, whether that be self-harm or homophobia, and it feels as though the characters serve only one purpose rather than embodying wholly complex humans. Superb acting chops from the principle cast, though, partly make up for the dull caricatures.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Jake Johnson Turned an Existential Crisis Into His Directorial DebutInside the former New Girl star’s wild SXSW comedy about a deadly dark-web game.
Read more »
The Lighter Side of Freezing Your Eggs in ScrambledSXSW alum leahmckendrick's finds a fertile topic for comedy in Scrambled.
Read more »
Shytoshi Kusama Reveals New Shiba Inu (SHIB) Metaverse ScreenshotChief of Shiba Inu devs shares another sneak peek of SHIB Metaverse as SXSW event started
Read more »
Famed Austin Chef Tavel Bristol-Joseph and the Future of FoodJoins the SXSW party and talk about how we'll eat.
Read more »
It's in the Rivets: The Secret Passion of LoungeflyThe 'geeky Gucci' designer brand makes its SXSW debut. Loungefly
Read more »
SXSW: Preview the premieres and activations of the film and TV festivalThe festival opens with Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, and features multiple exciting events spotlighting your favorite TV shows and movies.
Read more »