The Limits of Control

Berlinale’s Plot summary:

Ronah works as a sexual surrogate, teaching inhibited men what they fear most: intimacy. Her clients are referred to her by a psychotherapist. She and one of their number casually make the bed where they will sleep together; later on she lets him show her his new business idea on his laptop as if they were best friends. Such scenes are interspersed with hotel hallways, claustrophobic shots of Manhattan’s urban canyons, hassles with workmen, cries for help from Ronah’s brother she chooses to ignore, even as he tells her that their mother has disappeared. It is impossible to identify when exactly she loses control. She’s clearly not been able to get a handle on her new, auto-aggressive client Johnny with his soft voice, his intelligence, his occasional mocking remarks. She starts to fall in love with him instead. Without any trace of voyeurism, Anja Marquardt’s impressively complex, stylistically precocious directorial debut observes how the line between professional and private intimacy becomes gradually blurred.

 

First-Cow-Perspective: Thou Wast Mild and Lovely

Partially raised on Hitchcock movies – Josephine Decker premiered her directional debut ‘Thou wast Mild and Lovely’ (a movie that Hitchcock himself wouldn’t be ashamed of making) at the Berlinale last Friday. The film’s cast: Joe Swanberg and Robert Longstreet work amazing together, especially when their polarity changes. Sophie Traub’s performance as the frog eating nymphette is outstanding. The DP’s done her job really great, including the unconventional (hopefully not accidental) focus play and the ‘first-cow-perspective’ seduction flashback. Decent cross-genre cinema with a twist, that will keep you thrilled till the end of the movie. 8/10.