clearly, intensely, MAJORLY influenced by cassavetes, which i had no idea about going in!! the story is split into two distinct parts, and the second half finds aubrey plaza going full Opening Night (plaza has previously talked about her love of both elaine may and cassavetes).
at its core, the film probes artists' relentless quest for authenticity, and posits two conflicting questions:
-if someone is manipulated into feeling and behaving in certain ways, are those feelings and behavior truly genuine?
-alternatively, is manipulation the best way to elicit genuine feeling and behavior? (example: kubrick manipulated tom cruise and nicole kidman so intensively during production of Eyes Wide Shut that they got divorced. at the same time, Eyes Wide Shut is…