From Variety · Guy Lodge · · 1m 20s
Taron Egerton plays a fuckboi who gets what he wants
Jonathan Schey's debut mashes rom-com, body horror and gender-war satire around a London charmer whose desires get answered far too well.
In brief
Jonathan Schey's debut mashes rom-com, body horror and gender-war satire around a London charmer whose desires get answered far too well. A genre-hopping first feature that's nasty fun on the surface, held together by Egerton's willingness to look bad, but its sexual politics aren't as sharp as it assumes. Originally…
A sequel to the discourse
Just as arguments over who was victim and who was villain in the sleeper hit "Obsession" were fading, this film arrives to restart them.
“Just when the victim/villain discourse about sleeper smash "Obsession" was finally beginning to die down”
Same premise, new body
Another young man's desires get violently over-satisfied. Wanting everything and then getting it is the engine of the whole picture.
“another story of a young man's desires getting violently over-satisfied”
Three genres, no seams
Romantic comedy, body horror and gender-war satire get merged as casually as the hero gets women into bed, and then out of it again.
“Merging romantic comedy, body horror and gender-war satire as casually as its handsome, outwardly affable protagonist gets women into bed”
Schey's limber debut
British writer-director Jonathan Schey's first feature swerves between tones and stays light on its feet, silly and nasty for most of the runtime.
“this limber first feature from British writer-director Jonathan Schey is alternately silly, nasty fun”
Egerton is the glue
The star plays a smooth London fuckboi and lets the film puncture his own nice-guy image, holding the swerving story together with good sportsmanship.
“carried by a performance of witty good sportsmanship from Taron Egerton”
Less progressive than it thinks
The satire keeps tripping on its own sexual politics, which lag behind the forward-thinking film it believes it is making.
“occasionally hobbled by sexual politics that are slightly less progressive than it seems to think”
The main idea
A genre-hopping first feature that's nasty fun on the surface, held together by Egerton's willingness to look bad, but its sexual politics aren't as sharp as it assumes.
