Sunday 20 June 2010

Chase the Slut - EIFF - Filmhouse - 19/6/10

Ryan Denmark who scored a huge hit with "Romeo and Juliet vs the Living Dead" at last years EIFF returns with another fabulous feature.

This time around he is directing a script written by leading lady Vanessa Claire Smith which tells the story of Chase (Smith) who has what can only be described as a "bad reputation". She drinks a lot and she sleeps around even more. With little, to no money, she relies on her wealthy friend Tibb (Danika Sudik) to give her tips in exchange for carrying out dares...most of which have sex at their centre.

At a night club the two girls spy "Gabe" (Michael Kirby) a boy in a rust colored shirt. Tibb decides that she will marry him but offers Chase $1500 to seduce him (Gabe is a virgin and Tibb wants someone to "break him in"). What follows sees Chase plunged into the bizarre world of Gabes religion...followers worship Noah and pray for the next great flood and the men have animals who act as spirit guides. Slowly but surely Chase finds something of comfort in the isolated community and embarks on a voyage of self-discovery and realisation.

What starts as a silly and left-field comedy slowly unfolds to become something much more serious film with something important to say about relationships, love, friendship and commitment.

Vanessa Smith is startlingly good, delivering a performance that highlights her gift for comedy but also showcasing a real ability to show raw emotion. She is a talented actress and her script is as worthy of the same level of praise that was heaped on Diablo Cody for "Juno".

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