Chemical Cut (2016) - Marjorie Conrad

Marjorie Conrad's Chemical Cut is the story of Irene, a twenty-something LA resident who is struggling to find herself among all the noise.  Working at a high-end fashion boutique, Irene is adrift, that is until a chance encounter with a talent scout introduces her to the world of modeling.  Irene is ecstatic at first, blinded by her own excitement to feel wanted, appreciated, and desired, but she soon discovers the hard way that the modeling industry is just as soul-crushing as her job as the low-level employee at the fashion boutique.  Marjorie Conrad's Chemical Cut is a satirical evisceration of Los Angeles' vapid culture and grotesque self-importance, using the fashion industry to encapsulate how the group-think mentality of any culture aims to deconstruct individualism, break-down self esteem, and promote their overall agenda that provides very little room for any outside points of view.  While all of this sounds very gloomy, Chemical Cut is quite cartoonist in its depiction of the fashion industry, as the film displays many of the characters which Irene interacts with in a hyper-fake, over-the-top way.  To be fair, I have no idea if some of these character's behavior is over-the-top, but the film clearly aims to make the audience laugh, using this borderline cartoonist tone, at times, to reveal the comedic absurdity of this vapid culture where groupthink is essentially celebrated.  While I particularly found the evisceration of Los Angeles compelling and relate-able, Chemical Cut at its core is a film about the importance of doing what makes oneself happy, being a film that understands the difficulty of any individual to truly discover what they want to do with their lives, independent of outside influences.  Irene is adrift, sure, but so is her best friend, who essentially uses her as a crux to deflect his own insecurities about being a success in life.  It is only through a chance encounter with a mysterious old woman that Irene begins to find herself, enraptured by the contrast between the woman's rough exterior and her beautiful interior performance.  This mysterious woman is barely in the movie, but she serves an important role, being a character who rejects the conventional definitions of beauty and artistic expression, being a character who performs in front of the masses with exuberance, showing no signs of low self esteem as she embraces what makes her happy - something which Irene needs to do.  With Chemical Cut, Marjorie Conrad has created a satirical look at the cultural bubble of Los Angeles, a film that is both playful, powerful, and personal, which captures the adrift feeling many young people feel in life when they are trying to figure everything out.

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