This was one of the most cringe-inducing, anxiety causing, nail-biting theater experiences I have ever had and that's a good thing. The film is incredibly provocative and disturbing, not glamorizing the unsavory relationship between the 29-year-old Misha and high schooler Jake.
I caught this at the Mill Valley Film Festival and I am so glad I did as this film completely took me by surprise. The actors, especially Mitzi Akaha as Misha and Laird Akeo as Jack were very natural and had great chemistry.
The script was very good and felt like something people would actually say. This realism made the film even more disturbing.
The cinematography was effective with some handheld camera movements that immersed viewers into the story. Furthermore, there was a distinct use of color that created a clear shift in the plot, taking the central romance to dark places.
While this is usually a fault, the film is predictable and in this case, it works. I could see most of where the film was going but I never thought that the filmmakers would actually go to those lengths and well, they definitely did. You would not see this level of commitment in a big studio backed film.
The setup and foreshadowing in this film is great and everything is paid off by the end.
While the film is mostly immersive, I do have a few gripes with the suspension of disbelief. I didn't always buy that none of the high schoolers or their parents were suspicious of Misha's age.
Overall, Chaperone is a heart pounding experience that effectively shares its disturbing narrative, striking a balance between humanizing its questionable protagonist while also not letting her off the hook for her actions.
