2023 SLAMDANCE FILM FESTIVAL REVIEW!
Who’s Annie? Annie Pisapia is a recovering addict, a victim of abuse, a larger-than-life personality, and an actor. This is her story told in an incredibly unique way. Through a meta lens, Annie creates a series about her life in a series about her life–she’s the star and the subject, she’s the voice of reason and a dreamer. This is Annie, and she won’t pull any punches.
Who’s Annie? Is a unique, biographical drama/comedy that aims to bring Annie’s story to life. What’s so strange about it are the layers that exist within the narrative. In the real world Annie is a working actor who’s found herself playing small roles in Orange is the New Black, Spider-Man: Far From Home, Ocean’s Eight, and more than seventy other projects. In Who’s Annie? Annie is a working actor now starring in a series about being a working actor. It’s like viewers are being pulled down a rabbit hole of inception, and it’s quite the ride. It’s hilarious what Writer-Director Sophie Peer is able to create, because it’s intentionally redundant–but it’s simply spectacular that she’s been able to develop a story about the larger-than-life actor that no one has heard of.
Without Annie’s personality, Who’s Annie? simply doesn’t work. Without her ability to stir the pot, to be loud and vivacious, to speak her mind and make viewers cringe–Who’s Annie? can’t be successful. However, Annie is all of these things and more. She’s one of those people you meet in life that is sure to make every situation just a little uncomfortable and a lot more fun. While this is how her character acts, everything seems to be based on reality, and if I were a betting man, I’d bet that this is Annie in real life to a t.
A narrative as wild and layered as Who’s Annie? can get confusing. What’s real? What’s fabricated for the film? In reality we can’t ever truly know what is real and what is fake (short of sitting down with Annie herself and asking–and I was lucky enough to do just that), but that’s not what threatens to derail the film. What threatens to throw the film off track is whether or not viewers can follow the narrative. Again, keeping track of what’s real and what’s simply part of the film can be challenging, but Writers Peer and Annie Sicherman find ways to ensure that Who’s Annie? remains as linear as possible (even though nothing about this film truly travels in a straight line). What could have become a jumbled mess remains accessible throughout its entirety, and I imagine, considering all of the content present in this thirty-minute pilot, that was a difficult task.
Annie has the personality to lead her own film, not just sit idly in the background of major motion pictures and television shows. She has the ability to invite viewers into a film, keep them engaged, and drive home a story about success using her massive personality. Her presence drives Who’s Annie? forward, and all that Annie is finds Who’s Annie? success.
Directed by Sophia Peer.
Written by Sophia Peer & Annie Sicherman.
Starring Annie Pisapia, Sophia Peer, Sofia Dobrushin, Samin Pogoff, Andrew Bodor, etc.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/10
