Review: In ‘Fresh,’ Daisy Edgar-Jones, Sebastian Stan offer a biting take on horror

Daisy Edgar-Jones as Noa in “Fresh,” an intense feminist horror thriller.Photo: Searchlight Pictures / Searchlight Pictures

黛西埃德加 - 琼斯肯定可以挑选他们。

看似温顺,in reality adventurous British actress cycled through several bad boyfriends in the terrific Irish miniseries “Normal People.” Now starring in her first American feature, the outrageous Hulu thriller “Fresh” premiering Friday, March 4, Edgar-Jones is a fed-up single in Portland, Ore., who lets a charming dude sweep her off her feet.

这名男子被塞巴斯蒂安斯坦扮演,所以她会更好地注意。毕竟,他是那个人,亨鲁的其他地方如此令人信服rock ‘n’ roll animal Tommy Lee. He plays the super assassin Winter Soldier too, for heaven’s sake!

Almost makes you want to ask, “Daisy, what are you thinking?” Except, as an actress, she’s thinking quite well and choosing her projects wisely. While “Fresh” is intentionally not for every taste, it’s an uncompromising feminist horror/thriller with a fantastic lonely girl/victim/heroine for Edgar-Jones to play.

Screenwriter Lauryn Kahn (“Ibiza”) and first-time feature director Mimi Cave give the actress a dazzling spectrum of emotions to play, all of which Edgar-Jones nails with apparent ease and precision.

She does so even when, eventually, her character, Noa, has to defy all behavioral logic. It’s a mark of her talent that by the time we get to that point in the film, Edgar-Jones has laid enough multifaceted groundwork that we’ll go with whatever Noa does to get out of her predicament.

Sebastian Stan as Steve and Daisy Edgar-Jones as Noa in “Fresh.”Photo: Searchlight Pictures

“Fresh” feels like “Get Out” for a post-“Tinder Swindler” crowd. Act 1 is a sour comedy about Noa’s terrible online dating experiences. There’s palpable unease from the start, but terror doesn’t manifest until a half hour in — along with the film’s opening credits, to signal that matters are turning dead serious.

The bloody, extended final stretch is also where the film’s metaphor is made obvious, both through dialogue and with queasy images that speak mouthfuls about objectifying — make that commodifying — women.

To provide more detail risks getting spoilery, which you don’t want to do with a film like “Fresh.” Let’s just say that men come off as unappetizingly as can be imagined.

That’s one reason why Stan’s performance is almost as impressive as his leading lady’s. Steve, whom Noa meets in a grocery produce aisle, proves funny and respectfully ardent. He claims to be a plastic surgeon too, which doesn’t turn out to be as attractive a quality as it sounds.

As Noa’s best friend, Mollie (Jojo T. Gibbs of “Twenties”), who plays a bisexual version of “Get Out’s” alarmed Lil Rel Howery character here, skeptically tells her, “I’m excited for you. It’s a straight girl’s fantasy come true.”

Sebastian Stan as Steve, a plastic surgeon, in “Fresh.”Photo: Searchlight Pictures / Searchlight Pictures

斯坦没有难以过渡史蒂夫进入噩梦,而他几乎和卖的人一样好,卖一些令人难以置信的动作,而且可以在他身上制作。

洞穴创造了一种氛围,如果你可以胃胃 - 观众将吞下任何事情。她对眼睛,嘴唇和其他表达解剖部件的极端特写件的偏好建立了一种充满载荷的情绪。一旦揭示了这种情况的完全恐怖,它就会蠕动和恶心,但也没有像图形一样。生产设计 - 特别是由裸露的混凝土和岩石墙,不锈钢(持续时间)厨房,抛光木板的现代主义男性化空间,而抛光的木板,比自然唤起野蛮的更多,它比改善其所有者可能假设的更多。

这是Edgar-Jones的一切极好的展示,无论是闷闷不乐还是调情,爬行,哭泣或倾向于NOA困境的荒谬,就好像她的生活取决于它(并且它一样)。这位女演员通过每一项表演选择宣传观众的同情心和关注

It’s a role she can really sink her teeth … never mind, not going there. But there will certainly be lots to unpack and discuss after more people see “Fresh.”

M“Fresh”:惊悚片。Staring Daisy Edgar-Jones,Sebastian Stan和Jojo T. Gibbs。由咪咪洞穴指导。(r.114分钟)在3月4日星期五开始在Hulu开始流。

  • Bob Strauss
    Bob StraussBob Strauss is a Los Angeles freelance journalist who has covered movies, television and the business of Hollywood for more than three decades.