Blame (2017 Film)
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''Blame'' is a 2017 American
teen Adolescence () is a transitional stage of human Developmental biology, physical and psychological Human development (biology), development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age o ...
psychological drama Psychological drama, or psychodrama, is a Genre, subgenre of Drama (film and television), drama and psychological fiction literatures that generally focuses upon the emotional, mental, and psychological development of the protagonists and other c ...
film written, co-produced, edited, and directed by
Quinn Shephard Quinn Shephard (born February 28, 1995) is an American actress, writer, producer, director, and film editor. She played the roles of Donna Malone in the Christmas comedy ''Unaccompanied Minors'' and Morgan Sanders in the television series ''Hosta ...
, who also stars alongside
Nadia Alexander Nadia Alexander (born April 5, 1994) is an American actress. She has performed in several television series, including '' The Sinner'' (2017) and '' Seven Seconds'' (2018)''.'' She won the award for Best Actress in a U.S. Narrative Film at the 20 ...
,
Tate Donovan Tate Buckley Donovan (born September 25, 1963) is an American actor, comedian and television director. He is known for portraying Tom Shayes in ''Damages'', Jimmy Cooper in '' The O.C.'', and the voice of the title character in the 1997 Disne ...
, and
Chris Messina Chris Messina (born August 11, 1974)Hochberg, Mina.Chris Messina stars in 'Ruby Sparks'. ''Newsday'' (Long Island, New York). August 8, 2012: "...the actor, who turns 38 Saturday ugust 11, 2012 After graduating from Northport ew YorkHigh Scho ...
. The film is Shephard's feature film
directorial debut This is a list of film directorial debuts in chronological order. The films and dates referred to are a director's first commercial cinematic release. Many filmmakers have directed works which were not commercially released, for example early work ...
. It screened at several film festivals, including at the
Tribeca Film Festival The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by Tribeca Enterprises. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive programming. The festival ...
, where it was nominated for several awards and won the award for Best Actress in a US Narrative Feature (for Alexander's performance).


Plot

Timid student Abigail returns to school after spending months in a psych ward. She is taunted for her odd mannerisms, often adopting the traits of characters from the books she reads, prompting her peers to nickname her "Sybil". Tough-and-promiscuous cheerleader Melissa and her friend Sophie take advantage of Abigail's meekness and mock her for being mentally ill. Sophie's friend Ellie is the only one that shows kindness to Abigail. Substitute drama teacher Jeremy Woods decides to make the class learn ''
The Crucible ''The Crucible'' is a 1953 play by the American playwright Arthur Miller. It is a dramatized and partially fictionalized story of the Salem witch trials that took place in the Province of Massachusetts Bay from 1692 to 1693. Miller wrote ...
'' for their upcoming showcase. Abigail and Melissa begin to rival for both the lead part and for Jeremy's attention, when Jeremy picks Abigail to play
Abigail Williams Abigail Williams (born c. 1681, date of death unknown) was an 11- or 12-year-old girl who, along with nine-year-old Betty Parris, was among the first of the children to accuse their neighbors of witchcraft in 1692; these accusations eventually ...
. Meanwhile, Jeremy's girlfriend Jennifer urges him to take on a new job, feeling he is unfit for teaching. He rebuffs her attempts, stating that he enjoys being a teacher. Melissa intentionally causes trouble by telling Sophie that her crush, Eric, has volunteered to read as John Proctor with Abigail, making it seem as if Abigail likes him, too. Despite these lies, Melissa makes Eric skip class with her to humiliate Abigail and to have sex with him. Jeremy steps in to read with Abigail and notices her talent for acting. When Melissa and Sophie call Abigail a "slut", Ellie asks them why they are even upset with her. The two girls accuse Ellie of having a crush on Abigail, causing Ellie to walk away. Melissa continues to attempt to get Jeremy's attention, but he only looks to Abigail, asking her to assist him with the showcase. Ellie, who has been spending her lunch period in the auditorium and away from Sophie and Melissa, listens to Jeremy and Abigail's conversations and writes about them. Abigail confides to Jeremy that she is lonely and ostracized, which is why she appreciates his company. Melissa becomes intimidated by Abigail's new confidence and locks her in the auditorium after school with the help of Eric and Sophie. Jeremy finds her in there and offers to drive her home. He tells her that she should not care about them and their immaturity. Jeremy comes home to find Jennifer, who tells him that he missed the meeting she had set up for him for a new job. He brushes it off, but she chastises him and expresses her dissatisfaction with his behavior. After Melissa's auditorium prank, Jeremy announces that he will be taking on the role of John Proctor and will read with Abigail. Melissa and Sophie hang out with Eric and their friend TJ to drink and do drugs. Sophie and Eric have sex in the bathroom, but Sophie throws up and ends the night with awkward tension between the two of them. Eric ignores her for days afterward. In drama class, Jeremy steps out and Melissa taunts Abigail in front of the class, accusing her of being inappropriate with Jeremy. Abigail tells her to shut up and throws Melissa's belongings to the floor, then acts terrified once Jeremy comes back, framing Melissa as the aggressor. The rest of the class watches in shock as Jeremy sends Melissa to the office. While rehearsing in the auditorium, Abigail and Jeremy share a passionate kiss, interrupted by someone slamming a door shut. Unbeknownst to them, it is Ellie, who is stunned by the event. Later, Sophie confides in Ellie about what happened between her and Eric, tells her she wants to be a better friend, and the two reconcile. While studying, Sophie sees Ellie's diary page describing Abigail and Jeremy's kiss and tells Melissa, who is enraged. At home, Jeremy has sex with Jennifer while imagining she is Abigail. Feeling guilty, he distances himself from Abigail, making Abigail feel anxious and insecure. At the school dance, Sophie tells Ellie that she knows about the kiss and that they should tell the school. Ellie states that she knows Sophie and Melissa are feigning concern because of Melissa's jealousy. Infuriated, Melissa again insults Ellie, who leaves. After the dance, Melissa is caught by her stepfather while taking suggestive photos in her lingerie. She leaves to spend the night at Sophie's. In the auditorium, in an attempt to make Abigail jealous, Melissa forces herself onto Jeremy. He angrily pushes her away, but Melissa makes sure Abigail sees them walk out of the same room. Melissa later finds Abigail's cross necklace and confronts her by wearing it. Abigail takes the necklace back and storms off. Thinking Abigail will be absent for the play, Melissa begins to rehearse as her understudy. As the showcase begins, Melissa is ready to go out on stage when Ellie enters backstage with Abigail, who is also dressed in costume. Before Melissa can react, Abigail walks past her and out on stage. Enraged, Melissa heads to the school office to frame Jeremy for sexually assaulting her. As their performance goes on, Abigail's and Jeremy's real feelings emerge and when the scene ends, Abigail storms off. Jeremy follows, and she accuses him of choosing Melissa over her. He reassures her that nothing happened between him and Melissa. He drives Abigail home, but gently lets her know that their relationship is over. Back in the school office, with her stepfather present, the authorities arrive to question Melissa about Jeremy. As she goes on, she reveals that she has been hit and sexually abused by him for years. Realizing that she is no longer making up a story about Jeremy, Melissa cries and screams when her stepfather tries to take her away. The police force him to leave. Some time later, Melissa arrives at school as a much more natural and conscious version of herself than her former tough demeanor. She makes eye contact with Abigail through glass doors, and both girls silently acknowledge each other.


Cast


Production

Shephard developed the script for several years. In 2015, after her financier fell through during the first week of shooting, Shephard partially self-financed ''Blame'' using money from her college fund and with help from her mother. The film was shot in 19 days in the fall of 2015 in Shepard's hometown of
Metuchen, New Jersey Metuchen ( ) is a suburban Borough (New Jersey), borough in Middlesex County, New Jersey, Middlesex County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The borough is a commuter town of New York City, located in the heart of the Raritan River, Raritan Valle ...
.


Reception

On
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
, the film holds an approval rating of 81% based on 31 reviews, with an average rating of 6.3/10. On
Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
, the film received a score of 54 out of 100, based on 10 reviews, indicating "mixed or average" reviews. IndieWire called it a "solid debut", while writing that, though it "isn't fully realized", it establishes Shephard as "someone to watch".
Glenn Kenny Glenn Kenny (born August 8, 1959) is an American film critic and journalist. He writes for ''The New York Times'' and '' RogerEbert.com''. Biography Kenny attended William Paterson University, where he majored in English literature.The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' described the film as "earnest but underdeveloped". ''
Filmmaker Filmmaking or film production is the process by which a Film, motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, beginning with an initial story, idea, or commission. Production then continues through screen ...
'' magazine called the film "a poignant and incisive examination of modern American adolescence." ''
The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
'' called it "a mixed bag of a directorial debut". At the
Tribeca Film Festival The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by Tribeca Enterprises. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive programming. The festival ...
, the film was nominated for several awards and won the award for Best Actress in a US Narrative Feature (for Alexander's performance). ''Blame'' was also a featured in the
Montclair Film Festival Montclair, New Jersey, Montclair Film is a Nonprofit organization, nonprofit that organizes the annual Montclair Film Festival (MFF). The festival is held between mid- to late- October in Montclair, New Jersey. The festival showcases new works fr ...
2017 and the
Greenwich International Film Festival The Greenwich International Film Festival (or GIFF) is a non-profit organization that celebrates the visual arts in Greenwich, CT, with an annual film festival in June and supporting events throughout the year. The Festival, located in downtown Gr ...
2017.


References


External links

* * {{rotten-tomatoes, blame_2017 2010s high school films 2010s teen drama films 2017 films American high school films American teen drama films Films about scandalous teacher–student relationships Films shot in New Jersey Samuel Goldwyn Films films 2017 directorial debut films 2017 independent films 2017 drama films 2010s English-language films 2010s American films English-language independent films