Within the camp of Distress and Exhausting Sweet comes Emma Higgins’ not-so-sugary thriller Sweetness. The music video director introduces audiences to a Gen Z Annie Wilkes, swapping out an injured actor for a drug-addict popstar. It is a suburban story of bullied outcasts coming of age by way of parasocial delusion—when fantasy turns into a nightmare. Higgins’ script is barbed and acerbic regardless of its tweeny-bopper cosmetics, lulling audiences right into a false sense of younger grownup terror. Sweetness is noisy and nasty, becoming proper alongside final 12 months’s idol-centric Smile 2 and Entice.
What Is ‘Sweetness’ About?
Kate Hallett stars within the deeply mature function of 16-year-old Rylee, a tomboy goal of highschool harassment. Her favourite musical artist, Payton Adler’s (Herman Tømmeraas) band Flooring Plan, is the one voice to appease stinging adolescent wounds. As luck would have, Payton is performing regionally—Rylee and equally obsessed bestie Sidney (Aya Furukawa) press in opposition to the entrance guard rail, singing alongside. As destiny intervenes, Rylee can be getting greater than her ticket’s value that night time. Payton by accident hits Rylee within the car parking zone together with his “borrowed” automobile and provides her a journey residence. Sadly, Payton’s narcotics abuse rears its head, and Rylee sees the true facet of her megacrush—so she vies to save lots of his poisoned soul.
Manufacturing designer Electa Porado youthfully designs Rylee’s bed room sanctuary like several lovestruck teen. Payton’s clippings and posters cowl the partitions and ceiling, promoting innocence and fixation in a approach that corrupts Rylee’s sense of actuality. Cinematographer Mat Barkley captures the Tiger Beat vibe effectively and higher frames Payton’s sweaty and electrical stage performances. Higgins’ previous experiences directing bands like Tegan and Sara lend natural glamor to the fame-driven hostage situation. There’s one thing amiss in Anyplace, America, which lets visible storytelling convey sinister undertones regardless of its Pleasantville exterior.
Performances are entrance and middle in Sweetness, anchored by Hallett’s excellent portrayal of a damaged spirit. Higgins’ storytelling comes with a candy-coated psychotic shell—Rylee needs to be noticeably unhinged to do what she does—however there is a sympathetic sorrow to her meltdown. There is a line from Rylee, one thing like, “I will by no means change the world, but when I might help you do it, my sacrifice shall be worthwhile,” and holy dagger to the guts. Rylee would not need Payton to herself. She’s misplaced her mom; her closed-off cop father struggles to attach, and everybody besides Sidney at college makes her life depressing—her manifested melancholy hits like a sledgehammer. There is not any justifying her actions, however her martyr’s advanced is stronger than one other movie’s comparable character mannequin in Scorching Subject duds.
‘Sweetness’ Creates a Tense Coming-of-Age-Story
As for its fiercer scenes when Payton screams for his life and tries to flee, do not count on The Beloved Ones or hardcore style examples. Herman Tømmeraas is a splendidly horny and pleading sufferer, handcuffed to a mattress whereas watching centerfold photographs of his abs that will trigger his demise—however bloodshed solely pushes to this point. Rylee’s petite stature would not make for frantic bodily standoffs, however the psychological implications of her caretaking beliefs cross loads of boundaries. Aya Furukawa performs the nervous confederate and helps counterbalance Rylee’s twisted intervention, including one other aspect of misery. As scenes advance and stakes rise, Higgins solely spikes pressure—there isn’t any backing down.
Nonetheless, an inevitability and “stars align” high quality to Sweetness makes it a bit of too excellent of against the law. Steven Ogg‘s tour supervisor can solely accomplish that a lot, trying to find his misplaced expertise. Cops cannot get entangled till an individual is lacking for 48 hours, in order that’s not a difficulty. Rylee additionally has entry to personal family holding cells for Payton, and staying secret is hardly an issue. There are explanations, and whereas Higgins sustains a creepy stalker-turned-nurse vibe, an total ceiling is current the place one thing like Villains does a greater job sucking us into home jail environments.
Sweetness, just like the Jimmy Eat World tune, sinks into candy uncertainty. Higgins makes no mistake about Payton’s predicament. It is psychologically dreadful and harrowing, keying into the hopelessness of teenage wastelands the place self-worth goes to die. Hallett has the affect of Elsie Fisher in Eighth Grade, working away with an authentically immature tackle movie star worship gone awry. They are saying by no means meet your heroes—effectively, Sweetness reveals why that mantra works in reverse, too.
Sweetness premiered on the 2025 SXSW Competition.
Sweetness
Sweetness packs an acidic punch, taking a harrowing tween method to nasty movie star kidnapping nightmares.
- Launch Date
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March 7, 2025
- Runtime
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93 minutes
- Director
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Emma Higgins
- Writers
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Emma Higgins
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Herman Tømmeraas
Payton Adler
- Kate Hallett is fantastic, actual star-making stuff.
- Works as each a coming-of-age story and hostage thriller.
- It?s no Martyrs, however that doesn?t matter?Higgins nonetheless stokes sufficient pressure and paranoia.
- It?s acquired a padded ceiling that stops from ever going too far.
- A kind of coincidental blueprints the place every little thing works close to excellent and hinders the expertise a tad.
