Black Eyed Susan - Fantasia World Premiere Review
Director: Scooter McCrae
Starring: Damian Maffei, Yvonne Emilie Thälker, Marc Romeo, Scott Fowler
Written by: Scooter McCrae
Produced by: Seager Dixon, Aimee Kuge, Justin A. Martell
Cinematography by: Anton Zinn
Original Score by: Fabio Frizzi
Synopsis:
Derek takes a job at a tech firm, developing an AI sex doll named Susan. As he explores the boundaries of desire, pleasure, and pain with Susan, he confronts profound questions about humanity in an uncertain future.
Thoughts:
Provocative and disturbing, Scooter McCrae's latest film is difficult to get through and will likely turn heads for all the wrong reasons.
Damian Maffei stars as Derek, who has recently separated from his wife and despite still being on good talking terms with her, he feels like the separation has essentially ruined his life. He has no job and no home. He is currently living out of his car and literally has to raid garbage bins at night for food. He has hit rock bottom. Or has he?
After he learns of the sad passing of a friend, Derek reconnects with Gil, another old friend who is currently developing a high end, top of the range high tech AI sex doll which he claims can be used for sex and/or companionship. His doll is next level and will be highly coveted when it eventually hits the market. But Gil needs a tester and he offers Derek the job. Derek is hesitant at first but after seeing the doll in person and conversing with her, he decides to accepts Gil's offer. Derek doesn't quite know what he's getting himself in for and what Gil's end goal is. But things get weird very quickly.
The premise for 'Black Eyed Susan' doesn't initially sound absurd at all. Hyper realistic sex dolls exist right now and this film is just a version of what we've seen in Philip K. Dick novels before, only here it isn't painted up all nice with in-depth backstory or intriguingly layered characters. And Gil's sex doll, aptly named Susan, is purely designed to be a coping mechanism for men, especially those who get sexual gratification out of domestic violence. The film, like it's introductory character Alan, pulls zero punches with this from the opening scene. It's immodestly evident straight away through the use of the language that this film will not be an easy or enjoyable watch.
I haven't watched Scooter McCrae's previous two feature films but I am aware of his notoriety and this film actually did come with a warning. Independant filmmakers are always trying to challenege the system and be noticed. They're always aiming to shoot something a different way in a different style, or say things that people don't neccesarily want to hear but just might need to hear. I think 'Black Eyed Susan' is attempting to say something about toxic masculinity and even beyond that, humanity and in a way it does set up some questions but it fails to answer any of them. This is no 'Blade Runner' that's for sure. I didn't think it was particularly thought provoking. It feels like it exists purely just to shock.
Yvonne Emilie Thālker plays Susan and while I fully admire their commitment to this role, it's very one dimensional. I realise they are essentially playing a robot so their performance will obviously come across as robotic but the dialogue that they are given and the scenarios that they are put in feel like a wasted opportunity. The language used in nearly every scene between Derek and Susan is just so obtusely "on the nose" that it actually took me out of it a bit. It's actually hard to take seriously at times, which is a real shame given the content. There's little room for the viewer to guess what's going on or to be invested in what might eventually happen.
I liked that it was shot on Super 16mm, giving it a grainy, grungy look and at least creating a little bit of an alluring atmosphere but there's little to no interesting shots in the film. This is the kind of film that should be rife with creative and artistic shot compositions but sadly everything is bland with boring choices put into frame. Most of the scenes between Derek and Susan feel like they're kicking off a porno film and even the incessant, accompanying musical score gets a tad annoying after a while.
I've watched my fair share of disturbing and shocking films over the years so it's not merely the transgressive content in 'Black Eyed Susan' that made it such an uncomfortable watch, it's the poor execution and lack of artistry that really lets the film down.
Verdict: ⭐️½
-Gavin Logan
'Black Eyed Susan' received its World Premiere at Fantasia '24 on August 2nd
Comments