Rating: B
Dir: Assaf Bernstein
Star: India Eisley, Jason Isaacs, Harrison Gilbertson, Mira Sorvino
There’s a fair amount going on here, with issues of identity, self-confidence, beauty and coming of age all swirling around. Mind you, you’d be forgiven if you didn’t notice any of these, being instead distracted by the shiny bauble of India Eisley and her, um, shiny baubles. You do have to suspend credibility, in that the mid-twenties Eisley is playing a high-school student, and one on the receiving end of bullying to boot. At least they didn’t throw a pair of glasses on her and call her plain (I’m looking at you, Jennifer’s Body). But I think the point here is that external beauty doesn’t equate to inner happiness. That’s why models and eating disorders are best buddies.
Maria (Eisley) certainly is not comfortable in her own skin, despite having a comfortable life. Dad (Isaacs) is a plastic surgeon; Mom (Sorvino) is… Well, present, though interest in her daughter seems fairly shallow. Right from the start – so this isn’t a spoiler – it appears there may have been a twin to Maria which did not survive. This manifests itself in Maria’s reflection: initially, little things like being out of sync (top). Naturally, this escalates until she is having conversations in the mirror with “herself”. Quotes used, since it’s more her evil doppelganger, who wants to take revenge on everyone mean to her. That includes best friend Lily; Lily’s boyfriend (Gilbertson); and Dad, who dared suggest that plastic surgery was a better birthday present than a car.
The reflection, which calls itself Airam, eventually talks Maria into swapping places. She has basically gone full Gollum at this point – and you never go full Gollum. Thereafter, it feels like a cross between Ginger Snaps and Carrie On Ice, with Airam living the life she was denied. Mind you, the final shot is like something David Cronenberg might have conceived of, for Dead Ringers – maybe it’s the Canadian influence; it’s certainly emotionally chilly – and it’s quite the doozy. Skimming the Letterboxd reviews, you’ll find the word “creepy” used a lot, and I think that’s part of the point. There’s no doubt, Airam stripping naked in front of her father and asking him, “Do you think I’m beautiful?” is creepy.
But it’s intentionally so, and not just prurient. I would go so far to say, it’s considerably smarter than Jennifer’s Body, certainly isn’t as smug about its premise, and benefits from a better lead performance. It’s as if Eisley is playing both Megan Fox and Jennifer Seyfried, and she works well as both. The film consciously remains vague as to whether there is any reality here. It’s possible that everything that happens is a result of Maria melting down [again with the freezing metaphors], and we all have an evil twin in our reflection, seeking to come out. Guess I need to throw Dr. Jekyll into the list of influences here, though at no point did it ever feel that this was shamelessly copying from anyone else’s answers.