Carrie Pilby (Susan Johnson, 2016) USA

Reviewed by Natalia de Oliveira Segreto. Viewed at Santa Barbara Film Festival.

Bel Powley, previously heroine Minnie in The Diary of a Teenage Girl brings Carrie Pilby alive. The awkward and isolated character Carrie walks through a very picturesque NY while trying to put her life together with the help of a therapist. We ended up accompanying over her eyes, a city full of weird and sometimes unrealistic characters.

Having her vulnerability on stake while seeking to understand her own problems, Bel Powley brings a very sarcastic and charismatic interpretation of this young adult. Promptly establishing her specific way of talking and judging people, her irony stands out naturally and it is always on track for not coming out in a mean way. Carrie also seems to talk a lot to herself for what seems like always an explanation of a changing point of the plot, but Bel Powley keeps bringing the audience together with her very vibrant and believable acting. Counting on close ups from Carrie seems like a very desperate intimate moment with our heroine that missed a bit more hardness in life to be taken more vigorously and make us really care about what happens to her.

Carrie brings a intelligent and specific character that endures a story that doesn’t carry the same depth as her. When it comes to dealing with her own romantic life, Carrie allows herself to be seen truly and fails on seeing what people’s intention are. Her careless relationship with her dad undergoes the whole film until it comes to be relevant in a very weird way. Carrie also counts with her new co-workers to keep on track of her own struggles, absurd random Tara interpreted by Vanessa Bayer adds up to a cast that ends up becoming a little repetitive with their own jokes and motifs.

Missing the point of reaching the right amount of humor within the characters while trying to bring a serious question of the heroine’s hassle, the film slips over the opportunity to make us really feel what Carrie goes through in her life.