Review of Imitation Girl (2017) by El N — 09 Sep 2018

Great to see fresh faces. Lauren Ashley Carter as Juliana and as immitation shows us her ability to be other people convincingly. At one point, Juliana looks in the mirror and channels Bette Davis. Her immitation depiction is a little like Latka Gravis from Taxi, nonetheless she is able to pull off the complexity of character required to keep the movie engaging.

Too many unexplained, sometimes extraneous complexities undermine the flow.. There is some messaging about the decaying town and the insidious role of drugs in interrupting characters well being. I appreciated that casting got the email that multicultural casts (especially scenes shot in cities) are infinitely more interesting to watch than casting that seems to deny the existence of brown people, gay people, older people, bald people, young people, accomplished women, dull people etc, are pulled from the margins and permitted for meaningful instances to be in the center without Hollywood stereotyping.

How these people interact with each other and take each other seriously as they seek intimacy enhances the film's depth. The ending was disappointing, it was as if they had spent all the money on earlier scenes, or got tired of filming and wanted to close it down very quickly.

When that happens I feel disrespected as a viewer, that my time was wasted. I mean, if this is science fiction allow Juliana to enter into the life of the immigrant from Tehran, while the Immitation inhabits and straightens out her life in the city.

They can keep up with each other using the mirror. Overall quality acting, multicultural casting, and decreased stereotyping, unfamiliar premise makes this movie a good watch.