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Slow Machine

Country: united_states

Year: 2021

Running time: 72

IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8300462/reference

Bob says: “Imagine what we’d get if David Lynch tried his hand at Mumblecore. I think it might be similar to SLOW MACHINE, which thematically seems to be playing with questions of identity and performance.

“Stephanie, a Swedish actor living in New York, moves out of her apartment in a hurry to head upstate, apparently to hide from someone or something, but maybe it’s to work on a character. We also see her wake up one morning in a nondescript apartment somewhere in Queens, where she meets Gerard, a nondescript guy who claims to be an NYPD counterterrorism intelligence agent. He tells her that her phone won’t work in the apartment, which turns out to be true, but maybe that’s more a ‘somewhere in Queens’ thing than an ‘NYPD intelligence officer safehouse’ thing. Gerard tells her he brought her there to protect her — he’d found her drunk and in danger. She doesn’t remember any of that, but it might be true.

“The film alternates between the upstate situation, where Stephanie hangs out with a band working on new material and tries out her Texas accent, and the city situation, where Stephanie develops some sort of relationship with Gerard.

“Throughout the film, there’s a sense of discomfort bordering on danger. There are a couple of bomb threats, although it’s unlikely either of them is real. There’s Chloë Sevigny describing a life-altering audition in which the world seemingly dissolves or dies around her. There are men propositioning Stephanie, but of course they’re doing it because they want to protect her. Of course.

“It’s shot in lovely grainy 16mm, and there are a few shots that are extra grainy, making them seem dream-like (and extra uncomfortable). And there’s a very mean-spirited (but arguably accurate) perspective on Brooklyn: ‘a white toddler in a Run-DMC t-shirt.’ That reminded me of the scene in DO THE RIGHT THING involving an argument between Buggin Out and a white guy in a Boston Celtics jersey who insists, ‘I was born in Brooklyn.’ 4 cats
Diane says: “4 cats from me too. One of those films that I don’t like much, but feel that the director is doing just what they intended, with skill. A struggling actress tries out roles, both honestly and deceptively, watches her effect on people, and is swept away by stories of her own creating. I would recommend watching this only with the promise of discussion afterwards–it’s an interesting headscratcher.”
Chris says: “Chloe Sevigny and Eleanor Friedberger play (versions of) themselves, Stephanie Hayes plays someone whose accent vacillates between Swedish and Texan and Scott Shepherd plays a delightfully weird and potentially dangerous creep. It intrigues as much as it purposely baffles from scene to scene but doesn’t quite come together, which I suppose is the point. But it doesn’t get anywhere near the catharsis of Bergman or Lynch. 3 cats
Slow Machine

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