Fresh
The dating game is given a novel twist in a bold, stylish debut from Mimi Cave.
Dinner with Daisy
It’s only fair to warn you. Fresh is not a romantic comedy. In fact, the film keeps its genre so close to its chest that it transcends genre. What it’s fair to say is that Fresh marks the feature debut of Mimi Cave and that women are usually rather better at this kind of thing – women like, say, Julia Ducournau and Emerald Fennell. But don’t let the directors of Raw and Promising Young Woman lead you to any wrong conclusions. Mimi Cave is a bold original and she does her own thing. Brilliantly.
Mimi Cave is fond of close-ups, be they unseemly or sensual. One of the first close-ups is of the mouth of Daisy Edgar-Jones, an English actress in her first American film (and her first movie lead). British audiences will know her from the cult BBC series Normal People, which captivated and steamed up a nation. She does like to court controversy. Here, she plays Noa, a young woman who seems unable to find a decent man to hang out with. It’s obvious from the start that Fresh is written by a woman (Lauryn Kahn) and directed by another. All men are shits.
The first date we meet is excruciating. He’s called Chad and he says all the wrong things. Passive aggressively he criticises Noa’s dress sense, insists on splitting the bill and commends her on being cute. Next! Next turns up unexpectedly in the grocery aisle of a local supermarket. The conversation turns from grapes to broccoli and phone numbers are exchanged. He – Steve – is funny, cool and “ridiculously cute” and is played by Sebastian Stan, who is all of the above. Quite how Sebastian Stan isn’t a bigger star is a mild mystery, particularly following such films as I, Tonya, Captain America: Civil War and the miniseries Pam & Tommy (in which he plays Tommy Lee). Fresh can only raise his profile, although its audience may be limited to those with strong stomachs.
Fresh addresses a number of issues (dating, misogyny, cosmetic beauty, haute cuisine), themes previously dealt with in other movies but never in quite this way. It really is an original, both in style and content. Cave has magisterially side-stepped pretty much every cliché that she may have deployed, hurling red herrings in our path as we try to out-guess the next narrative corner. As our protagonist, Daisy Edgar-Jones displays a perfect blend of intelligence and vulnerability and the camera patently loves her. Of course, her American accent is flawless and she is headed for great things. The supporting actors are equally strong, making just the right impression without drawing attention to themselves. One could say the same of the décor, the cinematography and the score, all there to serve the emotional trajectory. Genre movies this good are hard to come by and it’s a treat to sit down to one this fresh.
JAMES CAMERON-WILSON
Cast: Daisy Edgar-Jones, Sebastian Stan, Charlotte Le Bon, Andrea Bang, Dayo Okeniyi, Jonica T. Gibbs, Brett Dier, Alina Maris, William Belleau.
Dir Mimi Cave, Pro Adam McKay, Kevin J. Messick and Maeve Cullinane, Screenplay Lauryn Kahn, Ph Pawel Pogorzelski, Pro Des Jennifer Morden, Ed Martin Pensa, Music Alex Somers, Costumes Christina Flannery and Athena Theny, Sound Ann Scibelli, Dialect coach Francie Brown, Amputee consultant Kristie Sita, Food stylist Kris Barnholden.
Legendary Pictures/Hyperobject Industries-Searchlight Pictures.
114 mins. USA. 2022. US Rel: 4 March 2022. UK Rel: 18 March 2022. Available on Disney+. Cert. 18.
