Harrowing thriller hits topical nerve
Spurring difficult but necessary conversations
Luckiest Girl Alive (113 mins) (PG) Directed by Mike Barker Streaming now on Netflix Reviewer: Jen Shieff
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W.. ell-established producer Bruna Papandrea is dedicated to telling female-driven stories. She worked with Reese Witherspoon for four years on such projects, notably Gone Girl (2014) and Big Little Lies (2017).
Papandrea recently told
Entertainment Weekly’s Sydney Bucksbaum that Luckiest Girl Alive is the project she’s most proud of.
It took her nearly eight years to bring Jessica Knoll’s 2015 novel to the screen, but she never gave up.
She knew the story had to be told, all over the world.
The production team consulted with anti-sexual violence organisations and with the survivors of the Sandy Hook massacre — and Bruna Papandrea’s commitment paid off.
The film debuted this month in Netflix’s Top Ten in 91 countries.
Luckiest Girl Alive was directed by Mike Barker, known for three outstanding TV series: Broadchurch (2013), Fargo (2014) and The Handmaid’s Tale (2017), all with strong female leads, and he’s pulled off another major feat here, with the character Ani Fanelli (Mila Kunis in probably her most challenging role since Nina in Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan in 2010).
Ani was the victim of a horrific experience as a teenager. As a result of that, she hides the essence of herself, trying to be the person she thinks people want her to be. Eventually, taking the audience along with her, she finds out how to be the strong, independent woman she knows she is.
Casting and acting are outstanding. Chiara Aurelia in her role as the earlier version of Ani is well matched with Mila Kunis.
The way Ani moves between her wrong-side-of-the-tracks past into her
privileged adult life as a successful New Yorker is handled expertly.
Finn Whittrock was a good choice to play Ani’s fiance, Luke. A fairly stereotypical alpha male, he manages to be likeable and win audience sympathy as Ani moves towards him and away from him emotionally.
Dalmar Abuzeid plays earnest documentary maker Aaron, with the optimistic enthusiasm he showed as Sebastian in the TV series Anne With An E (2017).
Ani’s mother Dina (Connie Britton, The White Lotus, 2021) is exactly the sort of mother Ani wouldn’t want to confide in.
With so much being reported in New Zealand at present about the royal commission’s public hearing to examine the responses of faith-based institutions to the abuse and neglect in their care, the film is a topical insight into the struggle some adults have to keep up appearances as they try to deal with the horrible things that happened to them as children.
Ani sees to it that she is vindicated, not using violent retribution as in the similarly #MeToo-inspired blackly comedic drama, Promising Young Woman (Emerald Fennell, 2020), but in a way that brings justice and freedom nevertheless.
Gang rape and a school shooting may be hard for some to watch, but that’s exactly why Bruna Papandrea wants the film widely seen; she hopes it will spur difficult, necessary conversations. And it will, amongst both men and women.
Must see.
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