Alia Shawkat

Callum Turner

Zahra Alzubaidi

Tony Shawkat

Jane Levy

Tim Heidecker

Lola Kirke

Gilberto Ortiz

Dash Melrose

Allius Barnes

Blessing Oluwole

Sal Lopez

Priscilla Garita

Shaholly Ayers

Mousa Kraish

Jamie McShane

June Carryl

Richard Blackmon

Phil Burgers

Chloë Sevigny

Toby Nichols

Gil Perez-Abraham

Tim Blake Nelson

Channing Tatum

Chloe East

Hailey Gates

Luca Guadagnino

Hannah Betts

Naima Abed

Emilie Georges

Lana Kim

Jett Steiger

David Siegel

Scott McGehee

Mike Spreter

KC Wallace

Madeleine Gavin

Megan Fenton

Ashley Fenton

Mark Bennett

Robert Ames

Kelsey Fowler

Angelina Vitto

Emma Johnston Burton

Aubrey Marie

Josh Bissett

Jennifer Confaloni

Sophie Corra

Eric K. Yue

Jose Espinoza

Gunther Campine

David Cronin

Jake Magee

Sebastian Pardo

Matthew Miller

Erik Schultz

Casey Adams

Alex Krimm

Victor Winters-Junco

Elan Simon

Colby West

Austen Brewer

Clay Cullen

J.T. Holmes

Travis Fienhage

Heidi Hansen

Brendan J. Claybourn

Katie Peña

Ellen Nielsen

Becca Weber

Alexis Stafford

Rachel Galey

Allie Shehorn

Erin Rosenmann

Christine Choi

Alex Lebel

Ryan Senecal

Ryan D. Compton

Roy Cansino

Peter Mcalpine

John Maynard

Juan Campos

Zach Goheen

Renai Buchanan

Ruslan Shebystyi

Andrii Starykovskyi

Oleksii Kameniuka

Paul Hsu

Joseph Winterbotham

Stephen Pagano

Zoë Kravitz

Mona Fastvold

Daniel Lopatin

Adam Newport-Berra

Sebastián Silva

Daniel Blumberg

Brady Corbet

Antonio Campos

Eugene Kotlyarenko

Michael Mahlon Orona

Vinny Castellini

Adam Wyatt Tate

Ben Kahn

Heidi Bivens

Thomas Grabinski

Max Whipple

Ari Balouzian

Comedy

Drama

Atropia

Ways & Means

Frenesy Film

Paradise City

Big Creek Projects

Mary of Exeter Pictures

Mercy Buckets

Italy

United States of America

France

Louisa Moore - Screen Zealots

There is way too much going on in Hailey Gates’s “Atropia,” from its desire to be a biting satire of the film industry, its take on the military-industrial complex, and the blurred lines between performance and reality. Despite an interesting premise, it stumbles under the weight of its own ambition, delivering a smug, exhausting experience that tries too hard to be clever without ever earning it.

Aspiring actress Fayruz (Alia Shawkat), finds herself cast as the star of a bizarre military role-playing facility designed to train soldiers in simulated combat. When soldier-turned-insurgent-for-hire actor Abu Dice (Callum Turner) arrives, sparks fly. The unscripted romance between Fayruz and Abu threatens to disrupt the immersive war games.

On paper, it sounds like a sharp and surreal setting ripe for commentary, but the film doesn’t stick the landing. The script is based on real U.S. military training facilities (the most interesting thing about the film is that these fake countries and jobs for actors actually do exist), but the jumbled narrative causes severe tonal whiplash. The darkly funny satirical elements sometimes work but mostly don’t, and the sweeping romance undermines any meaningful critique. Even worse, everything comes across as scattered and self-satisfied, often talking down to its audience with smug inside jokes that rarely land.

Despite the film’s attempts to be fresh and original, “Atropia” ends up feeling bloated and tiresome. With sharper editing and a tighter focus, it might have found its voice. What a shame that the film is too enamored with its own cleverness to notice how off-putting it becomes.

By: Louisa Moore / SCREEN ZEALOTS

English