At the day of their 10 year high school reunion, five best friends from back when (Cayley Panov, Geriel Kent, Michael Lake, Braelynn Bryan, Tara Kennedy) sit down for documentary filmmaker Brody (Andrew Roth) - for more about him watch director Jason Armstrong's earlier 48 Hours in Purgatory - to basically warm up old memories, their pranks, old flames (including within the group), trips together, skinny dipping adventures and whatnot, but also not so fond memories like losing a fellow student or seeing their favourite teacher expelled from the school. There's one person that pops up again and again in their narrations, Penelope (Deanna Dressel), who they all agree was in this circle of friends, but they hardly can agree on anything else concerning her, not even her looks. Thing is, Penelope has been interviewed seperately without the friends' knowledge, and she shines a whole different light on their seemingly harmless anecdotes ...

Ok, on the surface this feels like just a bunch of friends sitting in a room reminiscing over their old high school adventures, and most of the stories they have aren't really all that extrairdubary - probably everyone who has ever attended high school has some similar stories to tell. What makes this film then in the early stages is on one hand the characters and their dynamics that feel 100% real (also thanks to a strong cast), on the other the slightly contrarian spin that Penelope in her solo interview puts on all these stories.  But what really makes the movie is its third act when the group is confronted with Penelope's interview. And even though the film intentionally leaves everything open to interpretation, the ending sure feels like a gut punch - in the best possible way - thurning the film into a rather fascinating and highly watchable puzzle.

review © by Mike Haberfelner

 

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