Mila Kunis proves her acting chops
ACTRESS Mila Kunis has been tickling the funny bone from the time she found fame on That ’70s Show to her doing a plethora of comedy films, the most recent ones being A Bad Mom’s Christmas and The Spy Who Dumped Me.
But this is the first time I’ve seen her in a serious role.
Hers isn’t just a part of being a troubled teenager. No, it goes beyond that.
She has mummy issues, firstly. Second, in trying to fit in as a scholarship student at the prestigious Brentley School, she finds herself susceptible to the rules set out by the elite, where money buys entitlement and power.
When we first meet Tiffani “Ani” Fanelli (Kunis), the 38-year-old has a perfect life. She’s on the cusp of a promotion to the New York Times magazine. And she’s planning her dream wedding to her wealthy fiancé Luke Harrison (Finn Wittrock).
But all is not as it seems. While she looks the part in terms of the moneyed family she is marrying into and is the picture of happiness, she is jaded by life.
This goes back to the trauma she suffered in high school where, on the back of being gang-raped, she is among the survivors of a high school shooting.
When she is approached by an up-and-coming director to share her side of the story, which contradicts that of Dean Barton (Alex Barone), who was left wheelchair-bound after the shooting and, as an adult, shared his experience in a best-selling novel.
And so Ani finds herself at a crossroads: leave the past behind or confront it by opening up and, in so doing, upend her idyllic life in high society.