A modest yet charming endeavour, Sophia Castuera’s feature-directing debut captures the directionlessness of post-grad life. Fresh out of an acting class, Cal (Ali Edwards) drifts between auditions and house parties, until her path crosses with childhood soulmate Jacob (Clay Singer). Sparks predictably fly between the floundering performer and the long-haired musician – yet Cal unexpectedly finds herself drawn to Jacob’s photographer girlfriend Emily (Lilli Kay). With the unpredictability of desire and attraction, Cal’s romantic conundrum is also imbued with chaos and restlessness, the classic ingredients of the quintessential quarter-life crisis.
At first glance, the film’s central dilemma, as well as its characters, appear to tread all-too-familiar ground. The developing rapport between Cal and Emily, for instance, is not always depicted with depth: at one point the film resorts to a musical montage to portray the pair’s growing bond during a photoshoot outing. This stands in contrast to recent offerings such as Charline Bourgeois-Tacquet’s Anaïs in Love, which imagines a similar menage a trois with much more flair.
