Like Me

From the themes of isolation, loneliness, the social media feedback loop and it's subversion of expections to it's internet-esque editing and sliced up storyline it doesn't surprise me that this film is polarizing. This isn't even a case of telling a familiar story in a new way. This is a totally different beast altogether. Unlike many people I think the story is pretty straight forward. The ending might take a little bit of thinking to wrap your head around but it's actually really meaningful once you understand it. As for the "cringy" vlogger guy I think people's reaction to him is ridiculous. There's LOADS of people out there who do exactly that everyday. Why is it cringy to showcase it in a movie centered around the internet? This may turn into a cult-classic as time goes on. I saw it 4 years ago and I still can't stop thinking about it. I really hope the director comes through with something else. If not at least we got this masterpiece.

The premise of this movie made me very hesitant, but after giving it a go, it shocked me with how cool and original it was. The camera work is phenomenal (which inventive sequences / trippy drug montages) and the story does NOT go how you would expect. The reviewers who didn't like this movie clearly did not grasp all the symbolism laden throughout. Basically, a runaway sees that she can achieve attention/validation through social media, and thinks this will be a fun way to spend her time - when she ups the ante and takes a hostage, things spiral way out of control, and the 'antagonist' proves to be a much more complicated person than originally displayed. This paradigm shifts even further as her descent into psychodelic madness spins out of control. Wish I had watched this on a bigger screen, that's how sumptuous the colors are. Really a visceral viewing experience.

As a millennial myself I feel ashamed when such stupid and dull-minded content gets created. Watching this movie is like being inside the typical mind of a late 2010s millennial. The movie desperately wants to mimic surrealism and post-modernist art, but ultimately fails to. Unfortunately, awful millennial-made movies like this one come a dime a dozen these days.

I once read a list of the 100 greatest characters of all time in Empire Magazine and one thing they explicitly pointed out was that there were only 6 female characters on the entire list. Quite an incredible fact. The point is that it is very hard to make a memorable and compelling lead female character. 'Like Me' takes a crack at it though and does a pretty decent job I thought. This is a very strange film in a lot of ways. The first thing you'll notice is the colour of the film. Red, blue and purple everywhere. It actually makes for a really beautiful film. The wallpapers in the film, the room designs and certain shots (like the one you'll find on the poster) are all unique and aesthetically pleasing to look at too. It's clear Robert Mockler has an excellent eye for visuals. 'Like Me' starts out with an excellent opening scene that had me glued to the screen needing to know what was going to happen. It then delves into some very dark and strange paths. This is a the story of a very messed up girl, that much is clear. Possibly the thing I liked most about the film though was the ending (SPOILERS) where she tracks down one of her online critics and confronts him only to find out that he is a coward in real life. This spoke volumes to me. The amount of the "keyboard warriors" there are in the world who are incredibly tough from the comfort of their bedroom, yet in real life are pathetic cowards are plentiful. 'Like Me' is a great debut effort from Robert Mockler and as long as he continues to improve he could be something special for the future.

I just wasted 1 hour, 23 minutes, and 56 seconds of my life waiting for something to happen. Do yourself a favor, if you plan on watching this movie, get yourself in a psychedelic frame of mind first. I gave it a 2 instead of a 1 for the colors and visuals. Pretentious with no substance.

I looked at the list of movies Addison Timlin has been in and I've seen quite a few of them but I had no idea who she was. That doesn't say much about her as an actress. "Like Me" while it has its moments, all in all, is a crap movie that I couldn't wait to be over. It could have and should have been much better. Kiya is a very disturbed character who deserved bad things to happen to her.