The Sympathy Scale: When Deception Becomes Documentary

It's a fascinating, beautiful thing when a movie gets you thinking in ways you never expected. How you scale and share your empathy between cause and effect might reveal a lot about the way you perceive the world around you. On the one hand, she'll get what's coming to her, deceitful so and so, and on the other, what has happened to cause this young woman to behave this way. Either way, whatever your bias, I think you'll find it hard to ignore that at the centre of this is an outstanding and convincing performance. Kacey Rohl brings something so wonderfully surreal to the role, making you question everything with every subtle glance.

Loved watching this little gem unfold, where one's self-interest combined with sociological expectations and acceptance blur into paranoid toxicity of constant lies. The cinematography was perfect, and the score on point, creating a massive technical achievement that feels almost documentary-like. It's a testament to the excellent film-making put together by Yonah Lewis and Calvin Thomas, newb producers who crafted something cleverly inspired. The constant anxiety you will have watching this film is a gruesomely funny ride, in the best way possible.

Smart, subtle, and unique-it would have been easy to produce a film with this premise and provide a cut-out 'mean girl' as the central character. Thankfully, the writers here are much smarter and have given us something quite unique. Kacey Rohl's performance as Katie is brilliant; morally her behaviour is appalling, but played with such subtlety that I found myself strangely sympathetic. She is obviously mentally ill, whether by whim of fate or something darker in her past, and her increasingly desperate attempts do not feel evil but driven by the need to hold on to acceptance.

A very good storyline that will keep you focused on the female lead's antics to keep the lie going. I love how unapologetic and not an ounce of remorse that the main character showed, coz that's what those kind of people really are. She's always crying but you know how she really doesn't care at all. The film lacks the usual Hollywood trappings, throwing you into the story with almost no exposition or explanation, and certainly no satisfying 'gotcha!' ending. It's a special alchemy of amazing storytellers at every single level of creation.

How far are you willing to go to keep up the lie? Mark Twain once said, 'If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything.' By the time we meet Katie, she is well past that point, shaving her head and participating in fundraisers. The audience is left wondering if she likes the game, watching her twist her way out of each predicament with a feeling of exhaustion at her desperation. We really want to see her lie be found out, if nothing else just for relief. The filmmaking is well done with great camera shots and fantastic dialogue, making it a tiny little film that could.

Overall, a terrific piece of work by all involved, which I highly recommend. Life has more meaning creating with people that you love, and this film embodies that spirit with its boldness and heart. Thank you to everyone who brought this to life-it's a wonderful thing that movies like this exist. I don't like to imagine what my life would be like if I'd never seen it, and I'm so excited to revisit it at some point. No better friends and co-workers than those who craft stories this raw and real.