Writer-director Michelle Savill aims to be riding high at this year’s Edinburgh International Film Festival with Millie Lies Low.
Anxiety-ridden Millie is on her way from Wellington to New York for an internship at a prestigious architecture firm when a moment of panic causes her to miss her flight. Ashamed to tell her friends and family the truth, she hides out in her home town. Spinning a world wide web of lies over the internet, while she tries to raise the money for a new ticket.
The little white lie that spirals out of control is certainly not a new cinematic narrative. What is a new trend however is having these falsehoods play out via the realm of social media. Recent examples of this include the film adaption of Dear Evan Hansen and #NotOkay.
How we are perceived by others has become so important, particularly the online versions of ourselves. Many people push themselves to breaking point to maintain this digital illusion. For some it might just be the odd filter of two on Instagram. For Millie however, it involves a lot of photoshop, creating fake backgrounds for zoom calls and keeping track of the time difference between New Zealand and New York.
At a certain point (of no return), Millie becomes reminiscent of Uncut Gems‘ Howie (played by Adam Sandler). A deeply flawed protagonist who is continually undone by their inability to make anything except the wrong choices.
It is a credit to Savill and lead actress Ana Scotney that in spite of Millie’s faults, you still root for her to find a way out of the ever-deepening hole she is digging for herself.
This is not a horror film. Yet there is one scene, involving someone hiding in a closet, that will have audiences watching through their fingers. Not in fear but in sheer awkwardness and disbelief.
While the first half dials the cringe level up to 11, it is refreshing to see that as the film progresses, it aims tackle the topic of mental health. It was an anxiety induced panic attack that kickstarted Millie’s crisis. Albeit one she was unwilling to acknowledge as an actual panic attack. Our society’s inability (or refusal) to address our own and others issues with mental health is a major problem and one that requires much more attention. It is important to kickstart these conversations and films like this can prove to be a catalyst.
Signature Entertainment presents Millie Lies Low on Digital Platforms 22nd August
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Director: Michelle Savill
Stars: Ana Scotney, Chris Alosio, Jillian Nguyen,Rachel House
Runtime: 100 minutes
Country: New Zealand
