Romantic meet-cutes: we've seen them all in movies, right? "Fresh," director Mimi Cave's feature debut, begs to differ.
Daisy Edgar-Jones (who broke out in the limited series "Normal People," based on the acclaimed book) stars as Noa, who is absolutely sick of meeting losers on dating apps. As the movie opens she is on the phone with her best friend Mollie (Jojo T. Gibbs), sitting outside of a restaurant, dreading her latest date. The guy she's meeting is terrible from the start: self-involved, rambles, demands things from the wait staff and takes Noa's leftovers home for himself. Noa has been single for a long time and each date solidifies that might be the right choice for her.
Enter Steve (Sebastian Stan). He approaches Noa in the produce section of the grocery store and starts a conversation about grapes. Not just any grapes, but the ones that allegedly taste like cotton candy (PSA: they don't). Noa is completely charmed by Steve's inane but confident babbling. She gives him her number and can't stop thinking about him, and eventually they start seeing each other.
It's important to know nothing further about "Fresh," because Cave skillfully turns the entire movie on its head when Steve suggests they go out of town for a quick getaway. The screenplay (which was written by Lauryn Kahn) successfully navigates genre changes, making "Fresh" a thrilling, exciting, and completely twisted ride to go on. The movie runs a few minutes shy of two hours and feels like it could use a trim, but these are minor quibbles in a daring debut.
Edgar-Jones and Stan have great romantic chemistry from the start and their performances and rapport evolve with the screenplay. Edgar-Jones is a strong lead and it's nice to see her capitalize on the success of "Normal People." Stan has never been more magnetic, completely sinking into his character, who has a lot more going on under his charming veneer.
"Fresh" is a movie to give yourself completely over to and go along for the ride Cave has created. She has several shorts to her name, but with this debut she has announced herself as a feature filmmaker to watch. If "Fresh" is her first film, it's hard to imagine what she could possible conjure up next.
"Fresh" had its debut as part of the 2022 Sundance Film Festival. It will premiere on Hulu this Spring.
| Movie title | FRESH |
|---|---|
| Release year | 2022 |
| MPAA Rating | R |
| Our rating | |
| Summary | Mimi Cave makes a daring debut with this genre-shifting new film. |
