“I don’t know how to do nothing,” Em (Emmanuelle Mattana) says to Jesse (Melissa Gan) in “Fwends,” who just wants her pal to put away her phone for the weekend. The two haven’t seen each other in some time and Jesse is intent on taking Em around Melbourne with the express purpose of taking her mind off work, clearly having putting some thought into the secret spots around town such as the park they find themselves in now and slightly exasperated that Em can’t surrender to the moment.
Director Sophie Somerville not only spots this chasm in the relationship between Em and Jesse, but considers it as part of how she connects with audiences as well in her disarming feature debut in which Em and Jesse embark on an urban adventure in which the sense of immersion begins to make it impossible to look away. There wouldn’t seem to be anything particularly impressive about “Fwends” from the start as Jesse looks for Em in a crowded Metro station, with the two on their cell phones giving each other directions, but it’s remarkable how Somerville ends up setting the stage for what’s to follow by capturing both ends of the conversation to show that the two aren’t entirely on the same wavelength and that they are a part of a much larger world that they have no control over when the camera is tucked away at a distance, allowing the general public to flood into the frame.
It’s never revealed how Em and Jesse first became friends, though one suspects it a relationship that involved proximity as children more than connection when their personalities couldn’t be much more different from one another. Whereas Em has work on her mind at all times having recently joined a law firm, Jesse is content “watering plants and playing video games, leaving lots of time for random adventures,” though it becomes obvious neither are entirely happy with where they’re headed as Jesse has a place in her apartment for Em to crash only because she recently broke up with an ex and Jesse is reeling from an incident at work where a superior made a pass at her, less upset at the harassment itself than the embarrassing process of reporting it to no avail. Airing out these things to one another should be cathartic, but while both Jesse and Em are inclined to lend a compassionate ear, how much they actually listen to each other, both consumed with their own concerns and not necessarily at the same place in their lives becomes a compelling question.
Mattana and Gan are both credited alongside Somerville as co-writers, likely improvising at least some of the film’s spiky and naturalistic repartee, and while the film isn’t immune to a time-wasting MDMA trip as day turns into night, there’s always a solid idea of where it’s headed even as Jesse and Em start to walk and talk in circles. Somerville shows a particular gift for creating the mood around what unfolds quite casually, bringing in a playful piano score from Mike Tilbrook that gently rises and falls and tinkering around with the sound levels with sound designer Rizky Pratama as Jesse and Em move through the city to place them squarely in the action, and the choice of locations as a reflection of what the characters are experiencing are sharp throughout. There’s a sense that when Monday arrives Em and Jesse may not remember too much about where they’ve been, but there’s plenty about “Fwends” that is bound to stick with you.
“Fwends” will screen again at the Berlin Film Festival at 10 am at Cubix 8 on February 16th and 20th and at 3:30 pm at the Stage Bluemax Theater.