Part dystopian future survival drama, part romantic tragedy, part post-apocalyptic adventure meets journey of discovery – MARGO is a surreal, at once harrowing film that calmly yet intensely peels back its layers like an onion that's slowly starting to rot. It's a fascinating character study (centered on the captivating performance of Lauren Schaubert who is pretty fearless here) that has one of the more honest and organic rites of passage I've seen executed in a film in years. The majority of the film focuses on us simply observing and journeying with our heroine, Libby (Schaubert) and it's the quiet, uncomfortably personal moments that seem to resonate the strongest. As the film progressed and unexpectedly evolved into a sort of unique (and rather breathtaking) revenge-meets-home- invasion-thriller, I found myself utterly fascinated by the themes at play. This is a tale of longing, a tale of a broken connections and the yearning to develop new ones, a tale of finding one's self identity amidst a chaotic and hopeless existence. It's a primal scream into the darkness. And, it's the tale of two women and their ultimate gift of healing each other, a gift which must be born through extreme violence (seriously: the attempts to kill on display here would be right at home in a remake of BATTLE ROYALE). It's quite beautiful, seeing something so tender come out of something so visceral, primal, and merciless. I also have to point out Abbey Hickey who steals her scenes as the titular character, conveying oh- so-much with simply a glance, giving a powerful performance made up of essentially 100% body language. This is a very quiet, refreshingly patient (not a wasted or rushed moment on display here), and beautiful film that's really a small story amidst a larger unseen tale – and the minimalist approach works to excellent effect, and was a very smart decision (a sort of apocalyptic movie without showing the ACTUAL downfall of society – I appreciated that the film assumes the audience is intelligent enough to fill in the necessary gaps without having everything over-explained). There's an intimacy to MARGO that wouldn't have existed had the scope been broadened further, and as it is the film is far more relatable and impacting. There is an uncomfortably honest social commentary about the film on what it means to be human. And that's one of its strongest traits – Packman's film is at once brutal, yet touching. Sad, yet uplifting. Hopeless, yet inspiring of hope. It's a very special film that is raw, honest, empowering, inspiring, and ultimately: human. So much so that it often feels unscripted (several times I legitimately forgot I was watching a film, I just got lost in it). MARGO is fearless cinema, and Packman goes to places most filmmakers would readily sidestep here. MARGO is a stripped down dystopian cocktail of heartache and self-discovery. It's GIRL, INTERRUPTED at the end of the world. This film affected me, and in the end, kind of took my breath away. Most of all: I just can't stop thinking about it. It's too deep under my skin. I can't recommend it enough.
