Susie Searches From the director Sophie Kargman The title character begins with Susie (Kiersey Clemons) said that as a child, he always knew how the story would end. In the opening pages of a book, he could immediately deduce the conclusion—an ability he used as a college student to start his own true crime podcast. When Susie isn’t in class, caring for her mother who has MS, or working on her campus job with her rude colleague Jillian (Rachel Sennett) and his eccentric boss Edgar (why marino), she volunteers at the local police station and tries to learn more about solving crimes. When fellow student Jessie (Alex Wolff)—who has some notoriety on campus for his online meditation videos—disappears, Susie pursues the case, which she hopes will eventually close her podcast.
Co-written by Kargman and William de Frank, Search Susie It’s like Jesse’s meditation videos: well-meaning but sometimes awkward in execution. Search Susie A film that sheds light on some surprisingly dark subjects, but underneath a twee sheen that makes it feel distinctly at odds with itself. It’s one thing, as this investigation progresses, we learn that Susie isn’t quite the detective we once thought she was trying to do her best, but that still doesn’t make these tonal shifts less problematic.
Clemons is quite charming in this role, even if these changes affect his performance the most. Especially in the latter part of this story, Susie’s motivations will change from scene to scene regardless of what the narrative needs. At a certain point, Susie’s mother isn’t even part of the equation, despite being a major part of Susie’s motivation. There are also many ideas that Search Susie Hints at the discussion, but doesn’t fully explore it. For example, Susie Searches The first act makes a revelation that changes what we think of this character going forward, and yet, the film doesn’t fully deal with the implications of this choice. The film also seems like it’s barely dipping its toe into discussing ethics in true crime journalism, but somehow realizes it has nothing to say about it and leaves that conversation entirely.
Finally, Susie Searches It starts to feel less like a fully formed narrative with consistent characters, and more like a collection of scenes with enjoyable cameos. Wolff is great as Jesse, an earnest college student who manages to be both confident and uncomfortable in his own skin. Early in her investigation, Susie begins to fall for Jesse, and it’s easy to understand how she could fall for this strange man. coming off Body body bodies Sennett is a lot of fun as Susie’s colleague, who marks the change in public opinion about Susie throughout the film, but with sarcastic and disturbing comments. Jim Gaffigan And David Walton It’s also pretty good as the sheriff and deputies who work in the police department that Susie volunteers for, but since this investigation is primarily Susie’s, they aren’t given much work but are tools to assist her.
But perhaps the best example Susie Searches The odd combination of tone and concept comes in the form of Susie’s boss Edgar, played by Ken Marino. At first, Edgar is an eccentric who is a little too devoted to his work, complains about the order in which the sodas are placed in the stockroom, and overanalyzes his employees’ performance. but Search Susie As progress progresses – and more importantly, Susie’s quest becomes more complex – this character changes as a means to script the story as it becomes more complex.
As this investigation continues, we see more ways that Susie tries to rationalize her behavior and towards the end Search Susie, Kargman and Frank’s screenplay almost guarantees worse by proving him right in spite of his lies, deceit, and excesses. While most of the story’s progression leads us to believe that Susie has gone too far, the film’s conclusion almost vindicates her actions, as if Search Susie Its hero cannot be allowed to go down a completely unrighteous path.
Search Susie Its heart is in the right place, and it could be the start of a fascinating mystery series, full of intriguing characters, twists and turns that are hard to see coming—even for Susie. But the disorganization of tone and unusual shifts in logic and character motivations make this film more of a mystery in itself.
