(The 2016 Slamdance Film Festival is in full swing and we have boots on the ground as well as eyes on screener links for the whole festival! Stay tuned to hammer to Nail as reviews start rolling in…)
Chemical Cut is the more-than-semi-autobiographical first feature written, directed by, and starring former America’s Next Top Model contestant, Marjorie Conrad. But this isn’t a dramatic reenactment of her time under the tutelage of Tyra Banks, nor is it a straightforward account of Marjorie’s experiences attempting to forge a modeling career after ANTM. Chemical Cut is about modeling, but it’s moreover the tale of a sheltered young woman attempting to thrive in a hostile world and discover her true self.
23-year-old Irene (Conrad) is indecisive about her career, but she knows she doesn’t want to stay in her dead-end retail job. So when, thanks to a dramatic new hairdo, she is scouted by a modeling agency, she decides to give it a try. She is immediately met with opposition, as well as discouragement from her parents and her emotionally abusive childhood friend, Arthur (Ian Coster). Her new agent is grotesque in both appearance and personality. And though he bombards her with dehumanizing criticisms the moment she walks in the door, she decides to stick with it, determined to make the most of the “one good year” she has left to be a model…
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Effed by the Wind 