ATROPIA
Starring: Alia Shawkat, Callum Turner, Zahra Alzubaidi, Jane Levy, June Carryl, Shaholly Ayers, Tony Shawkat, Sal Lopez, Jamie McShane, Tim Heidecker, and Chloë Sevigny
Director: Hailey Gates
PAIGE
While Atropia is a cool directorial debut by Hailey Gates with its absurd yet intriguing war simulation premise, the story takes a while to get going and feels directionless at times. The movie tries to balance too many tones at once; one minute it’s a comedic satire, next it’s a romance, and then it tries to take itself too seriously. I found Alia Shawkat, Callum Turner, and the rest of the cast to be great, but their characters are missing depth. It’s certainly a bold swing to appreciate, but its themes are too half-baked to make it something special.
KATIE
Hailey Gates' feature debut Atropia worked as a comedy, but less so as a critique of war and militarism. It focuses on fake Iraq towns that were built in the 2000s to train new soldiers and familiarise them with any number of situations they’ll encounter when deployed. It’s a compelling and odd premise, driven by a fantastic leading performance from Alia Shawkat. The satire isn't exactly cutting, and it flounders in its second half, focusing too much on a romantic subplot that doesn’t go anywhere, but it is funny and got more than a few laughs out of me.
