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"Act One," written and directed by Sophia Takal, can best be described as having the psychosexual ingredients of "Black Swan" and the boundary-pushing mentor elements of "Whiplash." While the movie is not nearly as successful as those titles, it's the perfect way to elevator pitch Takal's daring, if uneven, new feature.

Hannah (Ella Beatty) is a 17-year-old high school student with aspirations of becoming an actor. It's her passion, but also an escape from her home where her parents are constantly fighting with each other, and her mother (Elizabeth Reaser) is usually fighting against Hannah's dreams. After trying out for the current year's play Hannah is devastated when she learns she doesn't get a part, and looking to her mother for support is a fool's errand.

Desperate to prove her mother wrong, Hannah wants to find ways to improve her craft so she can make a living as an actor once she graduates high school. She learns about Act One Studios, run by Melanie (Ari Graynor), and decides to give it a try. It's unclear how Hannah thought entering the class would go, but Melanie suffers no fools in her class. She spouts "telling the truth" platitudes when it comes to actors, often delivering her anecdotes with a breathy tone. If she's not pleased with how a monologue is going, Melanie isn't afraid to raise her voice several octaves and tear someone down.

Even in her more even-keeled moments, there's something unsettling about Melanie that makes her presence uneasy. It's never easy to predict what might set her off, but she gravitates towards Hannah's naivete, in the hopes of making her a star student. As the movie progresses, Hannah is lured into Melanie's web and becomes attracted to Henry (Nate Mann), who is much too old to be entertaining Hannah's attraction to him.

"Act One" is all about the unnerving build-up, especially because the last act gets a bit too ludicrous for its own good. As soon as Melanie enters the picture, something doesn't feel right and there's a case to be made that Hannah even senses something is off. She wants to prove her mother wrong and escape her oppressive rule, so she continues to follow Melanie through the class and on retreats she probably shouldn't be on.

Beatty plays Hannah's crumbling innocence believably, especially when intoxicated by older figures who give her attention and affections she feels starved to have in her life. Graynor has done dramatic work before (especially on television) but her film work has been primarily in 2000s comedies (she steals the show in the lost to time but wonderful comedy "Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist"). She gives one of her best performances as Melaine, striking a nerve through the character's manipulative tactics.

"Act One" goes places that will make audiences uncomfortable, but it never feels entirely gratuitous within the story. More than the overt melodrama of it all, "Act One" is about Hannah's longing for independence and identity. Everything comes undone in the final moments of the movie, which doesn't quite stick the landing; but the performances keeps things engrossing until the credits roll.