Jul 15

Jul 15 North Bend Film Festival movie review: 'Superior'

(Image courtesy of North Bend Film Festival)

Estranged identical twin sisters find escape, freedom and danger when they impersonate one another in the dramatic thriller 'Superior' (screening during the 2021 North Bend Film Festival).

In short: Rebellious musician Marian (Alessandra Mesa) suddenly reappears at the home of her identical twin sister, suburban housewife Vivian (Ani Mesa). The polar opposite sisters decide to switch places - which takes a turn when Marian's abusive partner catches up with them.

Although the story waits almost a half hour before the 'twin switching places' premise takes shape, the script judiciously contrasts the wildly different sisters, while hinting at the life Marian is trying to flee. 'Superior' fires out of the gate with Marian, clearly scared and bleeding from her head, running for her life from an unnamed man. Even when she finds refuge with her sister, Marian is haunted by visions of the unnamed man. Not much is known about who the man is or why Marian so desperately wants to lay low, but the introduction seeds the threat to Marian - a secret that endangers not only herself, but her sister who is just happy to see Marian again.

The lynchpin of 'Superior' is the inspired casting of real-life twin sisters Alessandra and Ani Mesa. Housebound Vivian has a meek desperation to her character - the air of a woman trapped by her routine of grocery shopping and scheduled, dispassionate sex with her husband. Meanwhile, Vivian is the wild child of a sister whose chain smoking is only interrupted by the occasional shot of hard alcohol. It's a bit of a well-worn conceit to have diametrically opposed twin characters - especially when they "switch lives" - but 'Superior' pulls this off because the co-lead performances are deeply rooted in each sister's longings and traumas. The fact that they switch places is almost incidental - if anything, the plot convention merely allows Marian an escape from her troubled past and Vivian the opportunity to break the monotony of being a homemaker in a childless marriage.

'Superior' is saturated in the tragically '80s aesthetic, from the retro fashion to Vivian's wood paneled home. And the deliberately retro style permeates the tone and vibe of this low simmering drama to its core. With its synthesizer-infused soundtrack and a David Lynch-inspired texture, writer-director Erin Vassilopoulos' feature-length directorial debut feels like a film from another era. The movie has a dream-like atmosphere, which is all the more effective during Marian's visions - keeping the audience off balance, wondering if the mystery man is really in the room with her ... or if Marian is just having another hallucination.

Although the introduction establishes a persistent threat for the sisters, 'Superior' might actually have been better off without the mystery man plot thread. The film is strongest when 'Superior' just allows each sister to step into the literal shoes of her estranged twin. Yes, Marian's past is the impetus for the sister's reunion, but this plot thread actually takes a long time to pay off - basically just framing the bookends of the film. For most of the plot, Marian's past merely comes to a slow boil in the background, secretly ratcheting up the tension for her - without directly affecting much of the plot. The intrinsic drama of Vivian soaking up life outside of her marriage or Marian's trauma preventing her from finding peace in a small town is compelling enough without the human plot device that is Marian's mystery man, a character saddled with little character motivation or dimension.

Final verdict: 'Superior' is a captivating, haunting twist on the "switching lives" trope that is more satisfying in its character-driven moments than its awkward plot-driven beats.