Marian, a young, punk rocker returns back to her hometown to hide out at her identical twin sister’s house. She just ran over her abusive boyfriend, Robert, who may or may not be dead. She ran over him with her car, not her feet, just to be clear, as that would be silly. That is the set up to this Sundance Film Festival arthouse thriller. Well, half thriller, half slacker comedy is more accurate. It’s also a surreal, feminist story. Much of Superior reminded me of a slacker version Jonathan Demme’s Something Wild, but with a dash David Lynch and Robert Altman dual persona. None of what I have mentioned I consider a bad thing. I like all those things and everything in-between. I’m not sure if everyone will though? I also like that, as singular filmmaking wins the long game.
Superior is sequel/remake of a short film of the same name by writer/director Erin Vassilopoulos that played Sundance in 2015. Both film’s contain similar thematic elements, however the plot in the feature is more straightforward.
Marian returns home to her sister Vivian after the “running over” incident, but hides her past from Vivian. Unbeknownst to Marian, Vivian is married to Michael, a guy who is about as exciting as a turnip, but seems nice enough. Viv is happy to see her sister home, as she is a homebody dealing with a severe case of boredom. Things go well enough until Marian’s punk rock lifestyle starts bugging Michael, who insists Vivian tell Marian to get a job to help with the bills. Marian agrees, and gets a job at the local ice cream shop, which is run by a 16 year old dork named Miles (a very funny Stanley Simons). Marian doesn’t exactly dig the new job, as it is messing with her songwriting. She has a recording session coming up with her band, and has hardly practiced since her arrival.
So what are two identical twins to do? Why do a swap, of course. Vivian gives Marian a haricut to match her own. And viola! Viv starts taking Marian’s shifts at work, and Marian gets to take over Vivian’s household chores and free time. This is where the film gets going, and becomes a bit more playful.
This doesn’t really sound like a thriller, right? Well, the first half isn’t, but do you remember in Something Wild, when Ray Liotta finally comes into the picture? The film kind of goes in that direction in the final act. In which we learn the bond of their sisterhood, and a history of abuse. It all mostly works: the jokes, the drollness, the drama. There is also a subplot about sea conchs, and shared memories intertwined with dreams. I like that flourish, but I didn’t get much out of it other than being a storytelling mechanism for Marian’s past, and a symbol of their sisterhood. I am also no genius, so there’s that.
Marian and Vivian (played by real life identical twins Alessandra Mesa and Anamari Mesa) are great. I loved the realistic sister comradery, and in-fighting that only families are capable of. Where a “failure to mention” turns into a declaration of war, and a past experience can be debated for the truth forever and ever. These are details that are really hard to get onscreen, and due to the character driven nature of the story, are what make this film work.
The details that fall a little short are the plot about Marian’s abusive boyfriend Robert (Pico Alexander), where I can see the reason she ran him over, but can’t fathom the reason she was ever dating him in the first place. He just seems… awful. That said, Vivian’s husband Michael seemed like a square peg who would gel with Viv’s style. I am glad Dir. Vassilopoulos didn’t make Michael (Jake Hoffman) with similar sociopathic tendencies to Robert, as I was worried about earlier in the film. I get the world can be that ugly, but it’s not that common. It’s nice to see a movie that doesn’t fall into complete misanthropy.
I should also mention the cinematography. The movie looks straight out of Sundance circa 1992. The film was shot on 16mm using Kodak Film. The film’s soft qualities and grain pair nicely with this feminine story with grit. I particularly liked the use of color and realistic lighting that gave the film and artistic freedom and grounded nuance.
If you like 80s and early 90s thrillers with an indie spirit, a sense of humor, and a dab of the surreal, then give Superior a shot.
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