“I just got dumped by my future”
Before she can start her new life in New York City as an intern at an architecture firm, Millie (Ana Scotney) has a panic attack (even though she doesn’t have those) and has to leave the plane. Back in Wellington without a car, no job, no money, nowhere to live and unable to admit to anyone that she chickened out, Millie has to figure out where to spend the night. She tries to crash at her college, which is closed, she steals back her car that she sold to a friend and goes off into the night after bumping into a friend and is forced to keep up with the lie.
Thanks to photoshop she’s able to keep up the facade that she’s in New York when she’s living in a tent in her backyard. She goes through extreme lengths to keep this going. Her inability to admit that she has a problem prevents her from seeing the bigger picture and she compensates by blaming everyone else around her for her shortcomings. Millie’s mental stability is put to the test and things come to a head when her ex surprises her by joining her in Brooklyn.
The pressure to be perfect is a lot to handle for a young person. It’s ok to change your mind, no one will be mad at you. But there are some people that can’t admit that they’re wrong. This obsessive need to be the best can become dangerous and end up doing way more harm than good to the people you love.
Director Michelle Savill, along with co-writer Eli Kent, take us on an awkward and sad journey of someone who just can’t admit that they got scared and ran away. Scotney gives a compelling performance of someone who’s so desperate to live a lie that everything around her is fine that it consumes her every waking moment to the point where she should be institutionalized. She is someone who at first you empathize with, but as she continues to make one bad decision after another, you almost root for her to get caught so she can be exposed for the fraud that she is.
Signature Entertainment presents Millie Lies Low on Digital Platforms 22nd August
Reviewed online (screener provided by publicist), August 12, 2022. Running time: 100 min.
PRODUCTION: A Signature Entertainment release of a Sandy Lane Productions production. Producers: Desray Armstrong & Angela Littlejohn.
CREW: Director: Michelle Savil. Writers: Eli Kent & Michelle Savil. Cinematography: Andrew Stroud. Editing: Dan Kircher.
CAST: Ana Scotney, Chris Alosio, Alice May Connolly, Sam Cotton, Cohen Holloway & Jillian Nguyen.