FWENDS is the debut feature from writer-director Sophie Somerville, and stars Emmanuelle Mattana and Melissa Gan as Em and Jessie, two friends reuniting in Melbourne and just wondering around the city discussing everything about their lives. It's a lovely naturalistic concept and wonderful to see female friendship highlighted on screen. But the film feels like a 60 minute short expanded to a length that it's writing can't justify. As day turns to night the girlfriends take drugs, get locked out of their apartment, and once again derp around the streets of Melbourne. It feels really repetitive and I didn't feel like I was getting character or narrative development to keep me interested. I also feel like your capacity to enjoy this film will be radically impacted by the generational cohort you belong to. I have a lot of empathy with Millenials and Gan Z moaning about high rent and misogyny in the workplace. But their general fecklessness is also deeply irritating. This is no BEFORE SUNRISE.
FWENDS has a running time of 92 minutes. It played Berlin where Sophie Somerville won the Calgari Film Award. It also played Sydney and Melbourne. It will play the BFI London Film Festival but all three screenings are sold out.
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