DANIEL ISN'T REAL review

Now in cinemas and on VOD, Daniel Isn't Real sees Miles Robbins' Luke reconnect with his childhood friend, Daniel (Patrick Schwarzenegger). An encouraging but also toxic influence on Luke's life, Daniel pushes Luke into dangerous situations that he may not be able to come back from. Oh, also Daniel Isn't Real.

After a brief introduction to them as children where prankster Daniel arrives like a 21st century Drop Dead Fred before being locked away in a creepy doll's house (the result of trying to kill Luke's mother with an overdose of pills), the story picks up proper with Luke, now as a young man, trying to navigate his way in life whilst also caring for his sick mother (Mary Stuart Masterson). As his mother is institutionalised, he is advised by his psychiatrist to face whatever is haunting him from his past, leading to the re-emergence of his "imaginary" best friend, Daniel.

The temptation to liken Daniel Isn't Real to Fight Club is obvious, and there's clearly something of a demented Tyler Durden in Schwarzenegger's Daniel; all cocksure, confident and cool as fuck. He is everything Luke thinks he wants to be. But the film has more in common with the grimy, psycho-sexual world of Frank Henenlotter's Basket Case, the less-than-subtle conjoined twin shocker from the early '80s. In this, Daniel is Luke's very own Belial - a caged, impotent, rage-filled being, desperate to have the life his other half has.

Miles Robbins, first seen in Blockers and other supporting roles in Halloween (2018) and The Day Shall Come, has largely focused on comedic roles so far, but with his boyish looks he was destined for a lead role in a teen horror film (if that's what this is), and even bears something of a resemblance to Frank Henenlotter's lead from Frankenhooker, James Lorinz. His Luke is a likeable everyman character, and his pursuit of a romance with Sasha Lane's Cassie gives the film a much needed sweet side. Cassie is essentially an updated Marla Singer with a trendy boho loft apartment meets artist space, asking Luke important questions like "do you ever feel like you have no idea who you are?" at a modern art gallery before they destroy the art they find contemptible. In a film that is essentially about toxic masculinity against other men, Lane's character might struggle for screen time but is still the best she's been since American Honey.

As the flip side to Luke's character, Patrick Schwarzenegger's Daniel is the cooler, more attractive part of him, but also is a voyeuristic control freak, watching on as a romantic moment between Luke and Cassie turns into sex. Daniel is the incel inside who wants these moments for himself, eventually leading to a passing of conscience that gives Daniel an opportunity to act out his desires for sex and violence. Any questions you had about whether Daniel is just a part of Luke's psyche or a manifestation of something evil, allowing Luke to act how he really wants to act, are put to bed here; and this passing of conscience is in itself something near sexual, as Luke and Daniel's faces meld together before they break away, gasping.

As the good looking prankster Daniel, it's a strong turn from Schwarzenegger. Still on the verge of breaking out as a star of his own from under the weight of that surname, he's got the arrogance the son of the Austrian Oak and a member of the Kennedy clan should have. It's a great piece of casting that should act as a calling card for him going forward in his career.

As you might expect from SpectreVision, the production company who also gave us Panos Cosmatos' Mandy, there's a psychotropic quality to director Adam Egypt Mortimer's visuals that really work well for this film's big ideas. On top of some nasty body horror (there's that Henenlotter influence again), the film takes a trip into a nightmarish mind prison that's part Hellraiser and part A Nightmare on Elm Street, but also something completely different.

Daniel Isn't Real might owe a debt to some genre fare that has come before it, but it's a film packed full of ideas, and thankfully, most of them work.

Verdict
4/5

DANIEL ISN’T REAL will be released in UK Cinemas 7^th February 2020, and on Blu-ray and Digital HD on 10^th February 2020. For cinemas visit: https://www.ourscreen.com/film/Daniel-Isnt-Real

Order via iTunes here: https://apple.co/2FugjAo

LONDON FILM FESTIVAL: AMERICAN HONEY review

Andrea Arnold's latest film stars Sasha Lane and Shia LaBeouf as part of a crew of magazine salespeople travelling across the American heartland. A band of roamers drifting from town to town, partying and falling in love with each other, when they pass through Star's (Sasha Lane) town, she jumps at the chance to be taken away from her life of familial burden, line dancing and Nickleback. Using the same method to find a lead actress as she did when casting the unknown Katie Jarvis in Fish Tank, Andrea Arnold found Sasha Lane during a visit to the American college blow-out spring break. Star is in almost every frame of the film, and Lane's wide eyed innocence helps inform the journey her character takes.

The film looks beautiful, as you would expect from cinematographer Robbie Ryan, who shot Arnold's debut Fish Tank as well as last year's Slow West and Catch Me Daddy, two vibrant and visually arresting films. Arnold's films have always encapsulated a kind of social realism that seemed to be utterly British, but these often undocumented and neglected areas of the USA (where she went to study film before returning to Blighty) fit her lens perfectly. The use of music is also greatly important in creating the tone. Most of the music comes from within the film, during the group's journeys where they sing along collectively as if it's some bonding ritual, and by using the particular genre of hip hop that it does, it makes no mistake that this is a film about the youth of today.

One of the most powerful aspects of American Honey is how it shows the watered down element of the "American Dream" that is still available to these kids. Whereas their parents may have sold cars or real estate, these poor and unskilled kids are selling magazines. That's not to say they're not good at it, and there's a number of scenes where Shia's Jake shows Star how he uses his charm and wit to sell magazines door to door. There's money to be made, and the group lie, cheat and steal in order to get a sale. It's here that Jake and Star differ on their outlook at life, as she wants to show the truth, not more bullshit. Star resorts to using her sexuality and femininity to make sales, jumping in the back of cars with men she doesn't know, giving the film a palpable undercurrent of sexual threat that's unnerving and constant.

The developing relationship between Star and Jake is infectiously romantic, and the film as a whole has a strong sense of physicality to it. As Jake, Shia delivers a fantastic performance. It's fair to say that after his wilderness years a lot of people will have written him off, but this is a real coming of age as an actor for LaBeouf. Still under 30 when  this film was shot, the maturity he displays in comparison to his younger crew members shows the treacherous chasm there is to cross in your twenties, and how difficult it can be to come out the other side unscathed. The supporting cast (also largely cast via Arnold's preferred method of finding untrained actors from real life characters) don't really have a lot to do besides party, although Riley Keough's Crystal at least is able to provide an antagonist for Star as her permanently angry boss.

Like any road trip, you've got to make sure the passengers are entertained before they get irritated, and American Honey does suffer the issue of being over long with a few false endings, repeatedly placing Star in situations not dissimilar to one she was in twenty minutes ago. I wouldn't call it an issue with pace, as the film relishes in taking its time and stargazing from the off, but could be improved with a tighter edit towards the finale.

A sometimes meandering look at a journey across the American heartland, Andrea Arnold has nevertheless created another believable world where real life experiences have informed the performances of her cast. A film about youth, love and the vibrancy of living life, American Honey is among the year's most beautiful and best, anchored by a strong performance by Shia LaBeouf and the announcement of a new talent in Sasha Lane.

Verdict

4/5