This film opens with a shot in a library, where we see a young man approach a woman. He tries and opening line and, despite the awkwardness, persists with the small talk all while his body betrays his eagerness and awkwardness, and the woman is polite but yet clearly uncomfortable. The man becomes more desperate and when the rejection of him has to be spelt out, he reacts with sudden anger. It is something I have not seen but yet it is something I recognize instantly because I have the internet and I use sites such as Reddit. Whether reading forums for Incels, or seeing their members pop up on more 'acceptable' forums such as MensRights or just meme pages, the character at the fore of this film is one I have seen many times.
This opening is well filmed in a very observational and distant style, and the performances are really brilliant in how natural and well-observed they are. The rest of the film fills in the blanks with fairly straightforward footage of the subculture, but it fleshes out the picture by showing how accessible 'normal' life is while also showing it so far away. It is convincingly made throughout and is all the more chilling for it.
