Slamdance 2016: CHEMICAL CUT Review

Director:   Marjorie Conrad
Run Time:   83 minutes

Inspired, in large part, by her own experiences navigating the modeling profession in Los Angeles, writer/director Marjorie Conrad mines the painful yet somewhat amusing (and at times, slightly bizarre) memories of that stretch of time, familiarities – both flattering and unbecoming – stripped bare and presented for the world to see. Conrad appears to be introducing herself to the world of film through a debut biopic feature with the central performer being a version of herself reenacting the motivating sequence of events that inevitably led to the production of this film.

Conrad has essentially roped off a particular time frame in her life and committed it to the screen. The interesting aspect of this project, however, has to be the structure of the entire project; the full realization of which doesn’t fully present itself until the final frames. A dramatization of a real, lived-in rough patch – existentially and professionally – captured for perpetuity. Conrad has transformed this time frame into an infinite loop, a lifecycle representation of creativity; its origins, its incubation, its cultivation and, eventually, its fruition.

Because of all this, it is a bit difficult in distinguishing whether certain aspects of the film are full-on fabrications, slight exaggerations or, simply, the unmitigated truth. With that in mind, critiquing certain inclusions becomes a challenging task and the chief inclusion that encumbers the narrative would have to be the character of Arthur, the best friend of our protagonist, played by Ian Coster. His inclusion is warranted, however, the amount of screen-time dedicated to his effect on their relationship continually reiterates a point already well established. His incessant screeching along with his temper tantrum disposition grows increasingly exasperating as his obnoxiousness seems to increase rapidly with every appearance.

A corresponding critique that arises in the repercussions of Arthur’s insufferable dominance would be the continual wilting of Conrad’s character, Irene; her personality repeatedly pushed to the background of her own storyline, to the point of smothering her identity from the project altogether. Not only is it difficult to connect with the central character, but it is almost as if we’re never really given the chance.

Granted, in the overall scheme of things, the sequence of events and their presence make sense to a degree. Part of the film’s theme centers around Irene wallowing in her self-preserved existential obscurity unable to break out on her own. Even when she does briefly (through the modeling), the negativity she surrounds herself in, once again, takes hold. Obviously, part of the story is Irene’s steady rise from the floor of defeatism, from the negative people/situations around her, discovering her path and converting her existence into a firm statement instead of a timid whisper, but the ancillary characters smother the engaging portions of the film along with Irene’s voice.

Even though Conrad denies her character attention, time and time again, the skill and talent that Conrad the director/writer/actor/editor possesses shines through despite the aforementioned criticisms, ably executing dark comedy to provide a bit of humor while also (along with DP Mackenzie Mathis) displaying a keen eye for framing during several scenes. Now that we’ve experienced the origin story of a director rising from underneath a pile of negativity to begin work that aims to self-define, it is time for Conrad to assert herself moving forward.

CHEMICAL CUT Teaser from Marjorie Conrad on Vimeo.