It's hard to figure out exactly what I hated most about Alison Maclean's The Rehearsal. Was it the fact that the protagonist was accepted into an elite acting school despite barely being able to act? Or was it the fact that the film felt like it lacked any and all narrative connective tissue, jumping from one plot cul-de-sac to the next with complete abandon? Was it its pretentious, post-modern nonsense, its out-of-the-blue character death 2/3rds of the way through, it completely unlikable characters? No, I think it has to be its refusal to condemn pedophilia and statutory rape. The main character, a college student, gets into a sexual relationship with a middle school girl (the movie doesn't specify exactly how old she is, but she's young enough that her father physically threatens the protagonist when he discovers the nature of their relationship). The film never punishes the college student. In fact, the film ends with them reconciling and essentially walking into an uncertain yet happy future together. And let's not ignore the fact that the girlfriend's sister, another minor, got into a sexual relationship with a 40-something tennis coach. The film seems to sympathize with the sister's grief over losing the relationship. Don't give me any bullshit that the point of The Rehearsal was artistic integrity and honesty, therefore its glossing over the pedophilia and statutory rape is somehow okay. It's not. Maclean chose not to. She should be held accountable.
1/10
Oh hey, check it out. I went ahead and wrote a review of this dung-heap.
http://theyoungfolks.com/review/nyff-review-the-rehearsal/88430.
No comments:
Post a Comment