Two identical sisters reunite under mysterious circumstances in a compelling debut feature from Erin Vassilopoulos.
Believe it or not, Alessandra Mesa and Ani Mesa may be one of the only identical-twin sister pairs to lead a theatrical feature since the Wilde twins, who romanced Andy Hardy in “Andy Hardy’s Blonde Trouble” in 1944. (Yes, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen are — gasp — fraternal twins.) “Superior,” a compelling debut feature from Erin Vassilopoulos, casts the Mesas as Marian and Vivian, estranged siblings who reunite when Marian, a cagey chain-smoker, abruptly returns to their hometown claiming she’s just flown in from headlining a rock concert in Paris. “Kind of suspicious,” notes Vivian’s husband, Michael (Jake Hoffman), who grouses that Marian finished off his carton of milk.
Outside of their matching faces, the sisters look like opposites. Hewing to the thriller’s manicured visual and sonic palette — it’s so tidy, the room tone sounds threatening — Marian slinks around in leather miniskirts while Vivian grocery shops in a beige trench coat. Yet the script, written by Vassilopoulos (the director) and Alessandra Mesa (the younger of the twin actresses by 14 minutes), reveals that the twins share one thing besides DNA: a terrible taste in men, whether a drag of a spouse who seeks a stay-at-home brood mare or a reptilian abuser (Pico Alexander) who prefers his women drugged and bound.
The Mesas prove to be nimble, engaging performers. But for a long stretch, it’s unclear whether the menace of the movie that they are in is building toward anything. (There’s a limit to how often an audience is willing to fall for a hallucination.) When Vassilopoulos finally puts her characters in a squeeze, the tension remains oddly vaporous, as though she has tried to trap a thundercloud in a vice. The violence is presented with a deliberate languor that makes it feel insubstantial. Instead, it is the film’s shaggier pleasures that leave an impression, particularly its soundtrack of ’80s electro disco and a physically shaggy ice-cream parlor manager (played by Stanley Simons) who is too stoned to notice that his new employee is two different people.
Superior
Not rated. Running time: 1 hour 39 minutes. In theaters.
Source: Movies - nytimes.com
