JANE ** USA 2022 Dir: Sabrina Jaglom. 83 mins
The thriller film today has changed and so it should evolve. You have horror thrillers, action thrillers, erotic thrillers, crime thrillers, tech thrillers, spy thrillers and the all-encompassing psychological thriller. I was thrilled to a point with Sabrina Jaglom’s Jane (2022).
I am quite removed from the story as I lack the mind and other things of a teenage college-seeking girl you can be. This film had a certain charm and action to it that may appeal to the viewer. Tackling the present topics of bullying, identity theft, and major college entrance cheating that happens in the USA and the popular notion that ‘I just enjoy ruining someone’s life’ are the keys. However, the adage comes into play that it’s all fun till someone loses a limb. Apparently in the age of the sensitive viewer, the film begins with a warning to we are about to watch containing depictions of violence and suicide. These warnings could be attached to many a local Newscast today or near future if it keeps up.
High school senior Olivia Brooks (Madelaine Petsch) struggles with grief from the recent suicide of friend Jane (Chloe Yu). Olivia is on the debating team at her private school with the aspiration to go to Stanford University. The perfect life is disrupted when her application is deferred causing her to spiral and experience a series of panic attacks. These attacks include seeing the deceased Jane in the halls of her school either standing and staring at her or in the hall pulling down school banners.
New debating team girl Camille (Nina Bloomgarden) is perceived as a threat as she appears to be wooing the instructor. Olivia reconnects with her old friend Izzy (Chloe Bailey) to dig up dirt on Camille which they find and post using the social media account of their dead friend. The two begin a reign of cyber terror that escalates in deceit, death and destroying of lives.
Jane (2022) as directed by Sabrina Jaglom and written by Jaglom and Rishi Rajani is well directed with the standard background ghost appearing in the back. What I found off-putting with the simplistic nature that teenage angst get in this film. It’s all about going to a dream school and missing the point of empathy for victims even for a moment. The girls’ lives are privileged in the extreme with parties that best looked like they were at a five-star hotel. In most cases, authority figures do little in fact appear inept. You never see Izzy’s parents and Olivia’s parents are so oblivious they even fear when referring to male hard-on’s in front of Olivia.
Missed opportunity to show these women as being more than clothes obsessed, sitting around a pool drinking, driving well-maintained vehicles and having designer bedrooms.
Madelaine Petsch who is no stranger to teen drama as she was in the Riverdale television series does well in her role. She vomits at the right times and laughs like a drug-addled partygoer when high. She does tend to be screamy and cry at the drop of a school flag in places. Why can’t these characters be stronger in a modern horror film? If this was a male-oriented story you would not see the same behaviour.
Chloe Bailey as Izzy is actually the stronger of the two people which works to the advantage of them both. She encourages Olivia to come to parties even if they are superficial, and buy clothes. They were both best friends with Jane so that is the tie that binds them. Bailey does fall for the ideas of what is now rich girl syndrome in the film which to me again was a disappointment.
Jane (2022) will work for some people, perhaps for the younger folk in the audience that enjoy scary films and battle social media every day. A simplistic story that you may need to park your brain in places, particularly around a swimming pool near the end.
Review by Terry Sherwood
JANE is available to Rent/Buy now on Amazon Prime Video in the UK and USA