'Amanda'
She’s hard to love, but she’s even harder to hate.
The Worst Woman Wants a Best Friend
If mind-numbing privilege had a poster child, she would be Amanda, the titular heroine of screenwriter Carolina Cavalli’s directorial debut. Despite all the things her family has handed her — a rent-free apartment, a job that she does not show up for — Amanda has never had a friend. She sets out to correct this with all the prowess of a born-yesterday alien. The film is strange, surprisingly enjoyable, and a bit meandering.
After her family moves to a new town, the 25-year-old Amanda tries to find companionship in late-night raves and film screenings. She’s never had to work for anything in her life, and she’s unprepared to accept this as an exception. She doesn’t want to admit that she’s at these events alone, so she rebuffs every stranger’s approach. It goes as well as you’d expect.
When she meets Rebecca, an agoraphobe with similarly psychopathic tendencies, Amanda tries to pull her into her orbit. Even if she succeeds at ensnaring a friend, will Amanda be able to keep her, or will she forever turn to her phone’s virtual assistant — who she has programmed to call her “Sexy Mama” — for validation?
Amanda, played by Bernadetta Porcaroli, is as fascinating as she is frustrating. She doesn’t appear off-putting — Porcaroli is, after all, a fashion model — until she opens her mouth. Her perpetual ensemble, a crochet vest and culottes, is perhaps meant to communicate her tenuous immaturity, yet Porcaroli is seriously pulling it off. She never has a hair out of place. (Again, fashion model.) Porcaroli skillfully communicates Amanda’s awkwardness through her physicality and speech, but it’s ultimately hard to believe that a woman this polished could truly be so successful at repelling men. Rebecca, played by Galatéa Bellugi, is the more believable oddball, with her meh wardrobe and unique face.
It’s easy to see the argument in favor of casting Porcaroli, though. Her complex performance makes Amanda — a character whose catchphrase is “Go fuck yourself” — seem like more than just a caricature. Though she is apparently incapable of accounting for the feelings of others, Amanda clearly has feelings of her own, and they can be hurt. She becomes attached to a local horse and shares witty repartee with her eight-year-old niece. Like most 25-year-olds, she wants to matter more than she ultimately does.
Even if it’s an occasionally tedious story, Cavalli tells it with panache and bone-dry wit. Cheeky tableaux illustrate Amanda’s greatest fantasies — namely, an electric fan she can with through supermarket points. Cinematographer Lorenzo Levrini lends the whole affair a subtle, Urban Outfitters-esque level of desaturation. All of the supporting characters occupy their hilariously specific niches like they were born in them. Amanda might be weird, but she’s barely less weird than her mom (Monica Nappo), who lets loose by dancing to Juice Newton’s “Angel of the Morning.”
“Amanda” is a character study, so don’t go in expecting our leading leper to glean any wisdom or compassion along the way. How Amanda will ultimately become a functioning member of society is, frankly, none of our business. It’s just fun to watch her try.
Run time: 94 min.
Not recommended if you: hated "My Year of Rest and Relaxation" by Ottessa Moshfegh.
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