Poser Review

September 29, 2021 at 7:41pm
By Jason Stettner

This is a very slow burning experience that follows one individual that uses podcasting as a way to get into the lives of those attached to the local underground music scene. It follows Lennon (Sylvie Mix), a shy young woman that seems distant and has issues connecting with those around her. She really seems to be disconnected in general life, but she’s aiming to change that.

At the start it’s almost documentary like in terms of how the display of getting her podcast going is presented. From there it’s a very slow direction as she slowly becomes obsessed with Bobbi Kitten (Bobbi Kitten). A local on the scene, Lennon attempts to capture the essence of this individual. It can feel creepy at times, but really should have went further in attempting to capture what was slightly shown as being somewhat obsessive.

I mean, it definitely does eventually dive into some darker aspects though it takes awhile to get to that point. It felt as though it was meandering most of the time. At times something that looked at the scene in a rather unique way, with crisp wording for what it’s like to be part of it. Other times, just someone watching from the backdrop without any sense of particular direction.

This was beautifully shot, the cinematography is rather stunning. The shots are well framed, and very stylistic. There’s a beautiful focus on the core individuals, and the art that’s being presented all around them. At the start of the film it leaned heavily into what felt like a documentary format, mixing in music and the descriptions through a podcast format.

As the narrative progressed this shifted into more of a calmed dreamscape style almost, being more centered on just Lennon and the focus of her attention. It worked well for what it was, and may come across as a visual shift to some. I did find that the pacing felt a bit slow at times, and that there could perhaps have been more of a direct focus on the obsessive elements.

Still, it had a lovely balance of music that was well done that highlighted a certain sense of realism within the use of actual lesser known musicians in the cast. It was soft spoken, and almost calming in approach. There was a great performance by Mix, being perfectly middle of the road and lost. That was certainly what was required in the type of character they presented here.

The Conclusion

Poser is a rather interesting look at the underground music scene, using modern podcasting as a way to infiltrate and provide darker commentary on one’s obsession to fit in. I don’t believe it perfectly captures the obsessive points, but it was decently well done. I did find it a tad hard to keep fully focused on what was going on as it felt very slow.

It could have lived in those darker moments more, or showed a deeper impact on what happens with Lennon. I would have liked to have a deeper look into the desperation and change of something once she had it. It did linger on these concepts, but not to a fully compelling degree. Certainly a unique viewing though, quite different from other experiences I’ve had in a theatrical sense.

Poser Review at Home with Streamed Viewing during Calgary Film Festival
Screening Provided by Calgary Film

Rating Overall: 6.4