Black Bear (2020)

Director: Lawrence Michael Levine
Stars: Aubrey Plaza, Sarah Gadon, Christopher Abbott
Runtime: 104 minutes

Synopsis: A filmmaker at a creative impasse seeks solace from her tumultuous past at a rural retreat, only to find that the woods summon her inner demons in intense and surprising ways.

Verdict: I didn't know much about "Black Bear" prior to putting it on. Aside from it starring Aubrey Plaza, the movie's premise was a complete mystery to me as I didn't even watch its trailer or read its synopsis. I'm not even sure why I put it on in the first place instead of prioritizing one of the hundreds of movies I need to cross off my ever-growing watchlist. All I know is that I'm thankful that I did, because I found this psychological drama to be one of the best films of 2020.

Before I go on, I will say that this review contains some mild spoilers as it's impossible to talk about it without bringing them up, and I implore you to skip the next lines if you haven't seen it and stay away from any trailer if you're planning on checking it out. It's fantastic and Aubrey Plaza gives the best performance of her career in it, that's all you need to know for now.

For those of you who have seen it or came back after watching it, you probably know by now that what makes it such a captivating watch is its unique approach in telling how deceitful movies can be, and how psychologically damaging the process of filming them can be on the actors, who at times are put through hell to get the right emotion needed. It felt like a movie about the behind-the-scenes of "The Shining", in which Shelley Duvall was famously abused by Stanley Kubrick to get the performance he wanted out of the actress, breaking the line between reality and fiction along the way for her.

Despite some issues I had with its presentation, "Black Bear" nonetheless achieved what it was aiming to do splendidly. I'm eager to revisit it as I'm certain that I've missed some details about it that would clarify some questions I still have about the plot, but for now, I'm very much content with how thought-provoking and even entertaining the whole experience was.

FINAL GRADE: 8/10