Fucking with Nobody

My word, you got to admire the Finns for their odd (weird!), er, stylised, 'use' of the cinematic medium.

Billed as drama (yup ) comedy (er, well ... !), this does have a quite clever conceit behind it, and the main stars - plus also being its director / cinematographer, writers (and likely much else) - Hanna Leena Haru and Lasse Poser respectively, set up quite a, well, yes: a contemporary social media 'lifestyle' clash poser indeed, for a viewer patient enough to let it run through to consider: But is it really fully pulled off successfully, even visually and plotwise engaging ..?

Unfortunately, really, in a word, no.

For like the medium it is parodying - (is it?): merely largely unfulfilling fluff.

But still, doesn't take away from all kudos for presenting / trying an unusual viewpoint, twist, on contemporary social media and relationship mores.

Well, certainly at my age though, not sure if I could draw out / learnt anything!

This is not merely a "non-linear narrative". There are three layers: at the core, a fake Instagram love story; then the film about making that story; and these are wrapped in scenes about the making of this film, Eff-ing with Nobody. It's often unclear which of these three layers we're seeing at any given moment, and the jumps happen seemingly at random. Add to this a couple of what are later revealed to be fantasy scenes, and you end up with a jumbled mess.

Which is unfortunate, because the core story and how people reacted to it was interesting, at first. The acting was very good. The production was okay, and I wasn't bothered by the relatively few cellphone video scenes, which were of good quality. Some of the plot details were intriguing.

The film is not really a comedy, although we chuckled a few times. And it's certainly not a tragedy, just an interesting little tale that could have been written and produced to be accessible. But it wasn't.

I'm not very social-media-savvy, so the idea of an Instagram campaign around a fake romance was a mite implausible to me - but the general air of enthusiasm and commitment to "the project" kept me on board for long enough to stay the course.

Hannaleena herself has an infectious grin not unlike Amy Schumer, which helped also. Her (gay) fake beau was also very engaging, and this central pair held things together very well, I thought.

I can't say that I fully parsed the complex web of relationships and characters (some of whom seemed to have no function whatsoever) - but her ex-boyfriend cameraman and the beau's actual boyfriend provide some very nice supporting weight as the film (called an "autofiction" - is this a thing?) explores the implications of the fakery on those involved. Her boss and workmates are also drawn in to good and often humorous effect.

Be aware that the conceit extends to liberal use of "shakycam" and iPhone footage, and switching perspectives between "the film" and "the campaign" - so it you're looking for a straightforward narrative then this might not be for you.

Worth a look though.