Awkward high schooler Rylee has a huge crush on rocker Payton, who is struggling with addiction, in Emma Higgins’ SWEETNESS. After meeting him by chance on her way home from one of his concerts, she decides that she can make him go cold turkey.
It is the second film this year that brings Rob Reiner’s Misery to mind after Oh, Hi! While that film takes a comedic approach, Sweetness is a trippy thriller bordering on horror. Higgins’ directing is very confident for a debut feature, employing striking shots and an excellent soundtrack to construct an intense and gripping story.
Kate Hallett, who was the young narrator Autje in Women Talking, is terrific here, playing with our expectations of her character. Her performance aids Higgins in making all the insanity on display seem plausible, and the film has one of the better horror endings this year.
