SWEETNESS: 3 ½ STARS. “A ‘Misery’ for a new generation.”
SYNOPSIS: In “Sweetness,” a new teen thriller now playing in theatres, the thin line between reality and fantasy is blurred when a 16-year-old meets her drug addicted rock star idol.
CAST: Kate Hallett, Herman Tømmeraas, Aya Furukawa, Justin Chatwin, Steven Ogg, Amanda Brugel. Directed by Emma Higgins.
REVIEW: A “Misery” for a new generation, “Sweetness” essays a teen crush as it escalates from fandom-from-afar to an up-close-and-personal obsession.
Like many 16-year-olds, Rylee (Kate Hallett) has posters of her favorite singer Payton Adler (Herman Tømmeraas) plastered over her bedroom walls. The lonely girl, still stinging from the loss of her mother in a drunk driving accident, finds an escape in his lyrics. His music changed her life. Before she found his songs, she says, “I was really messed up.”
The chance to see her idol perform live in concert turns into something else when, after the show, she gets separated from her best friend Sidney (Aya Furukawa) and is almost injured when Adler, driving while high, runs her down.
As he drives her home, she realizes he is battling addiction and makes the snap decision to save him from himself by kidnapping him and holding him hostage at her home.
As Payton detoxes, the situation escalates pushing Rylee to extremes to prove her tough love is genuine. “Helping you will be the greatest thing I ever do,” she says.
Despite the title, there’s very little sweetness in Rylee’s tale of obsession.
Writer/director Emma Higgins keeps the story taut as she details what happens when Rylee’s, (played with urgent Annie Wilkes energy by Kate Hallett), parasocial relationship becomes flesh. Her empathy soon turns evil as the situation spins out of control, leaving her convinced that nobody understands her except the rockstar she has chained up in the basement.
Recent films like “Lurker” and “Hurry Up Tomorrow” have examined the obsessive nature of fandom, but Higgins, while going hard at the premise, offers up some moments of dark humour that help take some of the edge off Rylee’s extreme behavior; actions born from obsession, grief and loneliness.
“Sweetness” may not have an entirely original take on obsessive fandom, but interesting work from the leads and some shocking twists earn it a recommendation.
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