Exceptional acting is the only sure thing in ‘Madeline’
“Madeline’s Madeline,” an intense tale of a young actor who channels her real (or imagined) life experiences into her work, plays like a fever dream — complete with the odd framing of shots, jumpy editing cuts and lots of improvisation.
But even if it’s a film that will challenge any viewer, it benefits from a strong premise, a story line that more or less holds up, and three knockout performances. Rarely has the acting process been explored in such a cinematically provocative way.
Madeline (Helena Howard, in a dazzling star turn) has caught the eye of acting guru Evangeline (Molly Parker, excellent), who trains Madeline to use her considerable inner turmoil to soar to new heights in a New York theater troupe. But Madeline’s incendiary immersion into her craft poses an existential challenge to Madeline’s controlling, yet helpless, mother, Regina (Miranda July, superb), who gets sucked into the vortex of this creative chaos.
Director Josephine Decker doesn’t let us relax for a frame. Often, we don’t know whether we’re in reality or someone’s questionable version of reality. But as Madeline continues to spiral dangerously out of control, the tension builds. And when she performs the role of her mother in a twisted workshop, the effect is electric — and devastating.
On the surface, the film might seem to be all over the place, but Decker is clearly in command of her craft, giving us a mind-bending tour of Madeline’s complicated mental spaces. The only time that Decker miscalculates is a third-act foray in which Madeline’s fellow troupe members take matters into their own hands. Or do they? This is a film in which we keep asking ourselves questions just like that.