She's Lost Control (film)
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''She's Lost Control'' is a 2014 American
drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...
written and directed by Anja Marquardt in her
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 ...
, nominated for two
Film Independent Spirit Awards The Independent Spirit Awards, originally known as the FINDIE or Friends of Independents Awards, and later as the Film Independent Spirit Awards, are awards presented annually in Santa Monica, California, to independent filmmakers. Founded in ...
. The film stars
Brooke Bloom Brooke Bloom is an American actress. She is best known for her starring role as Ronah in the drama film '' She's Lost Control'' (2014). Career Her first on-screen appearance was a role as Grunge Girl in the episode "Team Play" of CBS's medical ...
as Ronah, a sexual surrogate whose professional intimacy with her male clients has begun to take over her personal life. The film premiered at the
64th Berlin International Film Festival The 64th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 6 to 16 February 2014. Wes Anderson's film ''The Grand Budapest Hotel'' opened the festival. British film director Ken Loach was presented with the Golden Bear#Golden Bear .E2.80. ...
on February 9, 2014, where it won the Forum section's top prize, the CICAE International Confederation of Art Cinemas Award, being called a "masterpiece" by the jury. One month later, ''She's Lost Control'' had its North American premiere at the
SXSW Film Festival South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has continued growing in both s ...
, followed by a New York premiere at the New Directors/New Films Festival at
Film Society of Lincoln Center Film at Lincoln Center (FLC), previously known as the Film Society of Lincoln Center (FSLC) until 2019,Aridi, Sara (April 28, 2019).. ''The New York Times''. nytimes.com. Retrieved April 29, 2019. is a nonprofit organization based in New York Cit ...
and
MoMa The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, a ...
, where it was described as a "stylish, deeply unnerving, and profound film on an intangible modern issue." The film was released theatrically in the United States by Monument Releasing on March 20, 2015, in Germany May 14, 2015, and in France July 23, 2015. The title is a reference to the Joy Division song.


Plot

While studying for her master's degree, Ronah works as sexual surrogate in New York City under therapist Dr. Alan Cassidy. Cassidy refers to her a new client, Johnny, a man with intimacy issues. On their first appointment, Johnny drinks alcohol, which Ronah discourages, though she says he can discuss the matter with Cassidy. Johnny's hostility to Ronah's attempts to get him to open up eventually leads him to reveal in one session that he does not trust her and desires to strangle her. In her progress reports with Cassidy, Ronah confirms her desire to continue working with him, as she does not want to give up on him. Johnny continues to drink during their sessions, citing a guideline from Cassidy that one drink before their session is fine. While Ronah works with her clients, she experiences increasing stress in her personal life. Her apartment building's maintenance man breaks through the wall in her shower to reach a leaky pipe on a complaint by her neighbor, then leaves the hole unfixed for weeks. Her brother contacts her via video chat with news that their mother, suffering from dementia, has gone missing. When he chastises her for not being more involved in their mother's care, she says she has been busy with her studies and work. She offers money, which he declines. She has also been freezing her eggs to make getting pregnant easier in the future, as she does not have a boyfriend. Ronah becomes friendly with her neighbor, but later finds her neighbor has filed a lawsuit against the superintendent; in turn, the superintendent has filed suit against Ronah. Although Johnny slowly warms to her, he remains distrustful and occasionally hostile. Their sessions progress from looking directly in each other's eyes and non-sexual touching to eventually include genital contact. Pleased that Johnny has opened enough to allow this, Ronah reports this to Cassidy. She also confers with her mentor, Irene, who has taken a teaching position. As they discuss difficult cases, Ronah asks how to handle when one party falls in love with the other. As they talk about falling in love with clients, Irene recommends a healthy social life outside of professional relationships. However, Ronah becomes increasingly obsessed with Johnny and follows him to the hospital where he works as a nurse anesthetist to spy on him. When she sees him flirt with a coworker, she becomes jealous. In their next session, Ronah demands that Johnny describe any sexual relationships he has outside of their own; he refuses. At the same time, she becomes more open and answers his questions about her own personal life. After they have sex, she stays with him overnight. Johnny leaves the bed and angrily yells at his reflection in the mirror. Concerned, Ronah asks him what's wrong, and he angrily lashes out at her, accusing her of faking her intimacy with him. After he beats her, she goes to the police. They offer to enact a restraining order, but she leaves before filing charges. Ronah attempts to contact her neighbor to no avail, and takes a harassing phone call from a prior client. Overwhelmed, she begins crying. Later, after being treated at a hospital for her wounds, her brother picks her up and remarks that her make-up causes her to look older.


Cast

*
Brooke Bloom Brooke Bloom is an American actress. She is best known for her starring role as Ronah in the drama film '' She's Lost Control'' (2014). Career Her first on-screen appearance was a role as Grunge Girl in the episode "Team Play" of CBS's medical ...
as Ronah *
Marc Menchaca Marc Menchaca (born October 10, 1975) is an American actor, writer, and director. He was co-director, co-writer, and lead actor of the 2013 Heartland Film Festival movie ''This Is Where We Live'', and was awarded best actor at the Breckenridg ...
as Johnny * Dennis Boutsikaris as Dr. Alan Cassidy *
Laila Robins Laila Robins (born March 14, 1959) is an American stage, film and television actress. She has appeared in films including '' Planes, Trains and Automobiles'' (1987), '' An Innocent Man'' (1989), '' Live Nude Girls'' (1995), ''True Crime'' (1999), ...
as Irene * Tobias Segal as Christopher * Roxanne Day as Claire * Ryan Homchick as Andro * Robert Longstreet as C.T.


Production

Initial production funds for ''She's Lost Control'' were raised on the
crowdfunding Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people, typically via the internet. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing and Alternative Finance, alternative finance, to fund projects "withou ...
platform
Kickstarter Kickstarter, PBC is an American Benefit corporation, public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York City, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative project ...
, earning a total of $50,081 by November 9, 2012. The film was shot entirely in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
. Principal photography commenced June 28, 2013.


Reception

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 ...
, a
review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews and ratings of products and services, such as films, books, video games, music, software, hardware, or cars. This system then stores the reviews to be used for supporting a website where user ...
, reports that 74% of 19 surveyed critics gave the film a positive review; the average rating is 6.8/10.
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 ...
rated it rated it 59/100 based on nine reviews. David Rooney in his review for ''
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 ...
'' described the film as "austerely elegant", "acted with naturalistic intensity", "arrestingly lit and shot, exhibiting a sharp eye for expressive compositions." However, he criticized it as "somewhat overly infatuated with its own dour, subdued style". Marc Adams of ''
Screen International ''Screen International'' is a British film magazine covering the international film business. It is published by Media Business Insight, a British B2B media company which also owned '' Broadcast''. The magazine is primarily aimed at those involv ...
'' said in his review that there's "much to admire in Marquardt’s control and precision as well as a well sustained lead performance by lead actress Brooke Bloom (...) Brooke Bloom is impressive... while Menchaca is equally impressive." Adams called the film "astutely cold and compelling", "unglossy and taut." Eric Kohn of '' Indiewire'' called the film "a fascinating debut" and "engrossing" and graded the film A− by saying that "She's Lost Control strikes a fascinating mood between slow-building angst and cold remove not unlike the Joy Division song that provides its title." Steve Dollar of ''
The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...
'' featured the film saying its "wintry visual design and tone of isolation feels akin to dystopian science-fiction or a horror film, the kind in which high-rise apartment buildings leak paranoia. Against the chill, Ms. Bloom performs with flesh-and-blood urgency." In her review for the ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
'', Katie Walsh finds that the "cinematic style and themes of urban alienation reflect almost a 1970s thriller quality, though the execution is decidedly modern. "She's Lost Control" is a quiet triumph, a true herald of a distinctive and necessary voice in cinema." Ronnie Scheib of '' Variety'' wrote that the film's clinical compositions create "an uncomfortable tension" with the warmth of Bloom's acting but could alienate audiences.
Stephen Holden Stephen Holden (born July 18, 1941) is an American writer, poet, and music and film critic. Biography Holden earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Yale University in 1963. He worked as a photo editor, staff writer, and eventually be ...
of ''
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 ...
'' wrote that it "sustains a mood of deepening alienation, but the attitude of the movie is too detached for it to be emotionally gripping, and its ending is botched." Kenji Fujishima of ''
Slant Magazine ''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New Yor ...
'' rated it 2.5/4 stars and wrote that although the film "raises a lot of genuinely thought-provoking questions", it "loses control of the most interesting and provocative threads of its vision".


Accolades


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:She's Lost Control American independent films Films shot in New York City 2014 films 2014 drama films Films set in Manhattan 2014 directorial debut films 2014 independent films 2010s English-language films 2010s American films American drama films English-language independent films English-language drama films