In the modern age dating apps have made meeting people in person and getting to know them the old-fashioned way all but obsolete. Noa (Daisy Edgar-Jones) is tired of the games people play using these apps, so, when one day she meets the handsome and charming Steve (Sebastian Stan) in the supermarket, she begins to fall for him. As the two are drawn closer to one another, Noa learns a dirty secret about Steve–and she must attempt to traverse the rocky terrain of dating unscathed. This is a Fresh take on the dating scene and how it affects everyone who is part of it.
Stan is known typically for his recurring role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) as the Winter Soldier/Bucky Barnes. While comedy is a vehicle by which many of the MCU stories are told, Stan hasn’t often been viewed as a comedic actor–but more often an action hero-esque individual. Fresh sees Stan in a different role–the purveyor of comedy, the driving force behind a comedy film (of sorts). Like I said, I’ve never seen him in a role like this before–helping to lead the charge in a horror-comedy. As horror ensues, Director Mimi Cave and Writer Lauryn Kahn aim to keep balance between the two genres, and Stan keeps that hope alive throughout the entirety of Fresh.
Opposite the impeccably talented Stan is a face that I was completely unfamiliar with–Edgar-Jones. She’s just as brilliantly talented and she conveys emotion incredibly well. She’s attractive, but she manages to appear somewhat common–allowing her to appeal to all viewers. The two actors together create a unique pairing of dry, subtle humor and dark, gritty horror. Fresh sees this juxtaposition of genres and tones form early on, and it’s the actors that ultimately allow this to develop.
Foreshadowing plays a pivotal role in viewers’ understanding of the film–as it allows those viewers to be in the know and closely follow the story. The score, developed by Alex Somers, plays on the juxtaposition of tones, but it also plays a massive role in that aforementioned foreshadowing. The score is a rollercoaster of dark and light, and it invites viewers into the narrative of Fresh, allowing them to understand what lurks around the corner and buy into the film. I’m not an expert on music, and even I’m able to understand and appreciate what it does for the film. This fact expresses to viewers how talented Somers is, and how capable he is of appealing to his viewers, inviting them into the film, and helping to facilitate Fresh as a whole. In addition to the score, lighting and camera work offer glimpses of the future, and they, too, pull viewers into the film. Everything works hand-in-hand in order to catapult Fresh forward and to intrigue viewers in enlightening and exciting ways.
The writing, as previously mentioned, includes pieces of comedy and horror that are blended together to make one, wild story about dating. Kahn looks to create a film that shouldn’t make sense tonally, but does anyway. Given the situations that Fresh’s characters find themselves in, comedy shouldn’t exist–it should be completely void from the film. However, there is charm written into the film’s characters that allows comedy to work in the dark, strenuous scenarios. Subtlety is key in Kahn’s writing, and it brings the entirety of the film together in romantic, unique, and hilarious ways.
Fresh reminds me of something like Cooties, but more down to earth and just all around better. Fresh is, well, fresh–and it entices viewers from the opening moments. As viewers anticipate the characters’ next move(s), and all of the pieces of this ever-changing puzzle begin to converge, the film becomes more and more enticing, and it never relents. It’s incredibly well written, haunting, and inherently funny–Fresh is a homerun.
Directed by Mimi Cave.
Written by Lauryn Kahn.
Starring Daisy Edgar-Jones, Sebastian Stan, Jojo T. Gibbs, Andrea Bang, Dayo Okeniyi, Charlotte Le Bon, etc.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/10
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