There can be a cavernous distance between the discovery of a topic worthy of expansion and the understanding of how best to then go about it. Too often, a five-part series should be a 90-minute film and even more often, a narrative feature should be a documentary. For the first-time writer-director Hailey Gates, a model and former Vice journalist, a longtime interest in the odd world of military role play compounds led her to Atropia, a satirical Luca Guadagnino-produced comedy premiering in competition at this year’s Sundance.
She had initially considered a documentary and had even thought about working as an actor within a real facility, but over a four-year research period finally opted for heightened fiction over grounded truth. It’s a decision that Gates can never quite justify, at least in the form of a full-length feature, a deadening jumble of ideas, tones, motivations and genres that just doesn’t coalesce into much of anything. It gives one the frustrating feeling of emptiness despite such a rich subject.
