‘Idiotka’ Review: Reality TV Satire and Heartwarming Family Dramedy Collide in A Messy But Winning Directorial Debut

“I would Describe My Aesthetic As Old World Trash and Treasure,“ Says Margarita (Anna Barynikov), A FEW MINUTES INTO Idiotka. “She’s Milking A Cow at Five, But She Needs to Be at The Ballet at 5:10. Loves a bargain bin. ”

As a description of a style, it’s nonsense. As an Illustration of An Imagines Wearer, It’s Word Salad. And Yet There’s Something Compelling ABOUT ITS QUIRKINES – WHICH, IN ITS WAY, MAKES IT A PERFERFECT Encapsulation of Idiotka. The Feature Debut by Writer-Director Nastasya Popov Is Certainly Messy, A Mélange of Contrasting Tones and Contractory Ideas. But Darned IF IT ISN’T Bursting with Enough Personality to Charm You All The Same.

For the first act or so, Idiotka Presents Itself As A Sendup of A Certain Soulless Type of Content. Margarita’s Explaing Her Look in that Very First Scene Because She’s Filming A Submission to Herself On A Reality Show for Underprivileged Aspiration Designers. The Emphasis is on the “Underprivileged” part. Not on Contestants have to Submit their Tax Forms to Prove they’re impoverizeded -m to qualify, Host Oliver (Owen Theiele) To Cast Individuals Who “Want to Pull Back The Curtain On Their Life”-Glossy Pr-Speak for “Have Comedelling SOB SOB.”

While Margarita’s Russian and Ukrainian Jewish Immigrant Family – Grandmother Gita (Galina Jovovich), Brother Nerses (Nerses STAMOS) ambitions, they’re understandably wary of the show’s fixation on struggle. But with so little money thaty’ve Fallen Half a year behind on rert for their tiny, Shared West Hollywood Apartment, They Can’t Begrudge Her The SHOT at A $ 100,000 Cash Prize. And so she Walks Into An Audition WHERE NICOL AND OLIVER PRACTICALLY LIGHT UP TO HEAR THAT SAMUUL IS FRESH OUT OF PRINON, OR PROBE About Her Mental Health. If she’s Falling Apart, All The Better: “We Love Unhinged,“ Nicol Deadpans.

Popov Has An Ear for the Calculated Faux-Compassion of Showbiz, and and Idiotka is Sharpest as a commentary on the Way Stories of Marginalization and Trauma Become Commodified Into A Shalllow But Market-Friendly “Authenticity.” The Directive for Margarita and Her Competitors, Including Yeezy-Inspired Jung-Soo (Jake Choi) and Bauhaus-Cicic Malcolm (Shaun J. Brown) “Unique Cultural Tapestry.” At One Point, The Phraase “Profoundly Ethnic” is Offered as a Grand Compliment.

In interviews, margarita is coaxed to Sound “more victimized.” Off camera, Nicol encourages her to send in clips of her family, the more embarrassing the Better. SO Far As Nicol is Conceerned, It’s All Just “Great Material.” IT DOES NOT MATTER WHAT IT COSTS Margarita and Her Family to Perform Their Private Pains for Public Consumption, or Even Who’s Those Moments Reflect Their True Expert. Packaged for Audiences.

But Idiotka‘S Industry Satire Loses Its Edge As the Narrative Balance Shifts Increatingly Town Heartwarming Family Drama in the Second Half of the Movie. The JUXTAPOSION OF TESEES CAN FEEL as Discordant and Random As Margarita’s Personal Style, WHICH I’D Describe (Affectionate) as “SLIGHTLY Curated Laundry Hamper. One minute she’s surround by caricatures like a vapid Life coach who dresses likes and is in the face played by Julia fox; The Next She’s Bonding with Her Dad As He Confesses that Since He Got Out of Prison and Off The Bottle, His Dreams Are “Very Much Shawshankno Redemption. ” It can be different to tell, especially at first, WHETHER WE’RE MEANT TO See Margarita as Delus or Determined, Cynical or Sincere.

If it’s disappPointing that Idiotka Doesn’T go as hard as it could, though, it turns out to be a pleasant surprise that it softer side works as Well As It dos. Popov has a great Feel for the Easy Warmth Coursing Between Every Member of the Family, Even in Moments of Strife, and the Cast Share a Fun and Comfortable Chemistry.

Baryshnikov Switches Between Oddball Comedy and HeartFelt Drama So Nimbly That She Almost Makes The Clashing Vibes Work. Jovovich is a delight as gita, whose big personality is outmATCHED ONLY by Her Even Bigger Heart. And Ivanir Brings Impressive Depth of Feeling to the Story ‘MOST OVERTLY DRAMATIC ROLE, ALLOWING US TO Feel The Weight of Samuel’s Regrets But ALSO The GENUINE PRIH. Collectively, they Create the Kind of Home You Could Walk Into and Feel Instantly at Ease, Reassured You’re Surrowded by Care and Kindness. Even if the People Offering It to You Can Be Messy and Imperfect, and Even if they are seem to be bickering with each of Half the Time.

The Same Applies to Idiotka. This is a Film that frequently feels at odds with it own self – uncertain How Far to Take Its Cultural Critique, How Exaggerated or Ground to Make ITELD, How How Time. The One Thing that’s Never Really in Doubt is that is the Product of a Distinctive Voice, Full of Invigorating Potential.