SXSW Film
Daily reviews and interviews
By Darcie Stevens, Fri., March 16, 2007
Pretty in the Face
D: Nate Meyer; with Meagan Moses, David Reynolds, Theresa Dyer, Nathan Amadon
We live in a world based so much on vanity that it's hard to remove ourselves from the want to be beautiful/thin/athletic/cool. Meyer's first feature is a snapshot of the lives of Maggie (Moses), who constantly struggles with her commonality, and Daniel (Reynolds), an overweight 14-year-old with a morbidly obese mother. The two are connected only through their counterparts – Maggie's boyfriend is Daniel's uncle – but share the need to feel something more. This isn't a May-December relationship, and apart from one moment of WTF debauchery, Maggie and Daniel find solace in knowing that each is just as confused as the other. The only moral to be learned from this slow-paced life story is simple: Be comfortable in your own skin. Meyer builds confidence through his characters, pulling interest from the audience with good performances from both Moses and Reynolds.
11am, Alamo Downtown
