Film Review: Chaperone
Our Rating: ★★★★☆
MPA: Not Rated
Set in contemporary Hilo, Hawaii, Chaperone examines the uneasy budding romantic relationship between a slackish 29-year-old woman and an athletic, occasionally oblivious 18-year-old high school senior stemming from a seemingly innocent misunderstanding that devolves into a slow-moving train wreck for all parties involved.
Zoe Eisenberg’s quietly lurid, feature-length directorial debut doesn’t waver in its ability to hold the audience’s attention, and it does so without moralizing condescension, being preachy about the subject matter, Hollywood kitsch, or gratuitous nudity.
It was quite a treat to see this film for the first time in the very same Palace Theater where many of the scenes were shot—barring the tinny sound quality—and Eisenberg captures the Hilo institution’s overall vibe with a focused precision no one else could probably pull off.
The actors equally and flawlessly support the story, too, relying less on rapid dialogue and more on body language alone.
While this film is likely to make audiences uncomfortable in their seats—and that’s the whole point—it does so with a darker subtlety not present in other movies that delve into inappropriate age gaps like Harold and Maude, Call Me By Your Name, and No Hard Feelings. Chaperone doesn’t lack a sense of humor by any means, but viewers might have some difficulty noticing it through the film’s often gloomy tone.
All in all, a solid debut with solid actors, and we’re confident we’ll be seeing more of Eisenberg’s unique storytelling abilities on a much larger scale this decade.
– HawaiiLocal.News