Not Okay review: the darkness behind social media

Would you reach the bottom for 30,000 followers on Instagram?

Do not worry to answer is Zoey Deutch with his skillful performance in Not Okaywhich we will talk about today in this new review of the film distributed by Disney Plus.

Not okay, with the directorial debut of Quinn Shephardimmediately warns us about what we are going to see: an unpleasant and above all deplorable protagonist, willing to do anything for a bit of fame and a few likes.

Not Okay: plot and characters

Not Okay opens, as is customary in many movies, with the final scene showing us one Danni Sanders who, in a panic, breaks the fourth wall stating:

“Be careful what the hell you want”

Less usual is the writing style Parental Advisory initial, which looks on its protagonist, defining it as super unpleasant. Description never been more accurate.

And here the film takes a leap into the past to tell us chapter by chapter the life of the protagonist and her rise towards shame. Danni is a young woman, according to her one Millennials (half Millennials, half Generation Z) who works in the offices of an online blog: “Depravity” in close contact with the influencers of the moment (never a more appropriate name for a blog). Danni feeling sad for not having witnessed the attack of 11 September 2001 (due to a cruise with her) decides to write a piece on why you deserve to be sad. Can a girl be more unbearable than that? Absolutely yes. Danni in fact, not considered by anyone, decides to fake a business trip to Paris to conquer Colin (Dylan O’Brien), a very popular influencer who works in his own office, with some likes thanks to a more refined profile. All good, until the dramatic news arrives of a terrorist attack in Paris that “forces” Danni to pretend to be a survivor and to become one of the spokespersons of American activism along with Rowan (Mia Isaac).

Not okay: lying brings acceptance

The intent of Quinn Shephard it is very clear, to denounce the aberrant social culture that is depopulating among the new generations. Never could a title be more suitable than Not Okayespecially if during the film it translates into the hashtag #imnotokay, as it represents today’s terrible mentality that rewards appearance and not reality, of which social networks are the main culprits. A simple lie, destined to become a real bomb, allows Danni the popularity, the attention of Colin (who previously did not even know his name) and mostly millions of likes on social networks. Because it is the appearance that really matters, even if obtained thanks to a lie able to approach and be appreciated by those who are too busy drawing up a list on their smartphone. Incredible isn’t it? Not at all, because with irony, cynicism and irreverence from the beginning to the end of the film, Quinn Shephard tells the dark side of technology. The film alternates between ironic moments and deeper reflections without ever taking (intelligently) a single direction, masterfully describing the hypocrisy that characterizes characters like Colin and Danni, but in general the world of social media, loudly whispering instability basically, the discomfort underneath and the disturbance to which the concern for a like leads.

Not Okay: when the reality of the facts emerges

It is when Danni meets Rowan that the true nature of the film emerges. During a meeting for survivors of terrorist attacks, in which Danni is decidedly out of place both for her presence and for the tasteless outings, we know Rowan (Mia Isaac), a teenager who really experienced the terror with her own eyes, during a classroom shooting. Here the two main strands of the film intersect, what we are willing to do for fame and the example we should bring back. The antithesis of Danni and Rowan is clear, leaving nothing implied. A 25-year-old and a high school girl so different that they meet for the sheer selfishness of Danni. When the latter hears Rowan talking about the many followers of her as an activist, she immediately pricks up her ears and from the perfect “superficial” as she is she approaches the girl and immediately tries to be friends with her. Through Rowan Not Okay it shows us what happens every day in America, without ever showing it to us with real images, but through the iron activism of the girl. Quinn Shepard here takes the great credit of making people reflect on such an important issue without the need to stage a real shooting, but showing the weakness and panic that ensue. Mia Isaac he hides very well in the character, representing his traumas, sufferings and weaknesses with talent, making clear, also thanks to simple expressions, all the evil that can hide behind a country. The credit, however, also goes to Zoey Deutch whose interpretation is truly credible and realistic, like that of Dylan O’Brien who confirms himself as the good actor we know in an interpretation very different from the usual ones, but for which he is a bit wasted. Wasn’t a little extra in the Teen Wolf movie better?

In conclusion Quinn Shephard he really does a great job right from the start and especially in the end, taking the credit here once again to tell the reality of the facts. What do you mean? Watch the movie and you will understand.