For those of you who didn't know, yesterday (April 17th) was National Canadian Film Day. Somewhere online I saw a post about this screening for I Used to Be Funny and basically said "why not?" I knew almost nothing about the film other than the fact that it starred Rachel Sennott and that it was a hit at SXSW last year, but alas I figured it would be a fun way to celebrate Canadian film and in return I was treated to one of my favourite movies of the year so far.
The film follows Sennott's Sam, a stand-up comedian/former au pair struggling through PTSD as the girl she cared for, Brooke, goes missing. The film essentially tells two stories, one in the present as Sam tries to work through her trauma and re-find herself amidst grappling with whether or not to try finding Brooke, and one in the past unraveling her relationship with Brooke and the roots of her trauma. Suffice to say, this is at times a pretty tough watch, but first time director Ally Pankiw handles the heavy subject matter with a gentle hand and makes this well worth checking out.
If we're being honest, I wasn't sold on this in the beginning. The very opening scene is good but one of the first few after that felt almost like a student film in how it was shot and edited, and I was worried that I wouldn't be able to escape that feeling throughout. There was a shakiness in the camerawork and some cuts that just really didn't work for me and felt somewhat amateur. Luckily, while there is still some rawness that comes with someone's debut, Pankiw finds her footing pretty quickly after that scene and delivers one of the better debuts I've seen recently. Her script here is really great, performing a tonal balancing act between the hard hitting heavy subject matter and some moments of deeply clever comedy to make this a film that cuts deep but still has much needed moments of levity. The relationship between Sam and Brooke (played by Olga Petsa) feels authentic throughout and really hooks you into caring for each character as the story unravels, and that is thanks to both Pankiw's dialogue and the magnetic chemistry between Petsa and Sennott.
This is some of the best work we've seen from Rachel Sennott. She doesn't hit the comedic highs of something like Bodies Bodies Bodies or Bottoms, but she's tapping into something very different here that I think she nailed. Pankiw uses her comedic chops well still, as a lot of the comedy comes from Sennott's natural wittiness, but this is without question a dramatically driven performance as she jumps between her upbeat past self and the quieter trauma stricken self in the present. It's a performance that will make you laugh and then crush you and it feels so real that I can't help but give all the praise I can to her for this. Olga Petsa is also really good, I do wish her character's emotional development was given a bit more but she is great and plays off of Sennott very well. Sam also lives with two comedian friends played by Sabrina Jalees and Caleb Hearon who I really enjoyed. I love the banter between comedians and the way they balance their natural tendency to try being funny with genuinely working to help Sam was a really nice touch.
All in all I was really pleasantly surprised by this. Narratively it becomes pretty clear where it's going but Pankiw's dialogue is magnificent and makes you truly care for these characters. The production isn't necessarily anything special but I did love the use of music thanks largely to some Phoebe Bridgers songs. Apparently Pankiw has done music videos for Bridgers and a lot of other big names so I'm glad she was able to use that connection here as "I Know the End" helps make one moment in the film feel truly truly special. Rachel Sennott is at her very best here, helping Pankiw to deliver one of the better debuts we'll see this year. Yay Canada!
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