PLOT: Teenager Maria turns control of her life over to her mirror image Airam, a separate being who is stronger than her… But also happens to be homicidal.
REVIEW: At first glance, writer/director Assaf Bernstein's LOOK AWAY (SEE IT HERE) appears to be easy to brush off as just another teen thriller, something aimed at young adults that might not have much appeal for genre fans. But if you don't do what the title advises and instead give the film a chance, you'll find that this is much darker and more twisted than the average teen thriller. And it's one that earns an R rating with some bloodshed and full frontal nudity, so it's not even appropriate for the teenybopper audience.
Aided by a snowy winter setting, Bernstein and cinematographer Pedro Luque achieved a somber and cold atmosphere for the film, and within this gloomy frozen world some very strange and unsettling things occur. Bernstein's story centers on withdrawn, sullen Maria, who has been having a tough time lately thanks to her awful father, school bullies, and her only friend's jealousy over a guy's interest in her. Maria sees a chance to turn things around when she realizes that her mirror image is a separate, sentient being named Airam. Airam offers to switch places with Maria, to take control of her life, to do and say all the things Maria wishes she could do and say herself to deal with the situations she's in. Problem is, Airam starts going further than Maria ever imagined, and people who cross them are soon dying off.
Maria and Airam are played by India Eisley, who is something of a genre regular at this point (UNDERWORLD: AWAKENING is likely her most popular previous credit) and happens to be the daughter of BLACK CHRISTMAS / PSYCHO IV's Olivia Hussey. I have seen Eisley in a couple other films before, but found her performance(s) here to be especially impressive. She seamlessly switches back and forth between the Maria and Airam characters, changing her demeanor, shifting expressions, making it clear that these are two different people she's playing. Eisley capably carries this film on her shoulders and proves to be a young actress worth paying attention to.
Penelope Mitchell, Harrison Gilbertson, and John C. MacDonald do fine work in supporting roles, playing fellow high school students that Maria and Airam have some intense interactions with. As Maria's mother Amy, Mira Sorvino has been tasked with playing a troubled character who doesn't often reveal her feelings, but Sorvino makes sure we know there's a lot going on under the surface.
The standout of the supporting cast is the ever reliable Jason Isaacs, taking on the role of Maria's father Dan – the true villain of the film. Sure, Airam may do some things she shouldn't, she may cause the deaths of some people, but it's Dan who has made Maria's life so bad that she has gotten to a point where she would give herself over to Airam. This guy is a disgusting creep, a plastic surgeon obsessed with the appearances of the women in his life, destroying self-esteem with his comments. And that's not even his worst quality.
The concept at the core of LOOK AWAY is an odd one, and Bernstein doesn't feel the need to over-explain what's going on. An answer may be given over the course of the film, but viewers are likely to spend most of the running time wondering whether there is something supernatural going on or if this Airam stuff is all in Maria's head. I was satisfied with how Bernstein presented the information needed to have an idea of what's happening here.
I find the idea of a mirror image being a separate person to be quite interesting, but it's all in the execution, and I was concerned that LOOK AWAY might turn out to be something cheeseball. Instead, Bernstein turned the idea into a film that is dead serious and found a lead actress who was able to bring his outlandish idea to the screen in a believeable way. Pleasantly surprising even when troubling, LOOK AWAY was worth the watch.
LOOK AWAY is now available on VOD and DVD (you can purchase a copy of the DVD at THIS LINK).