Title: Millie Lies Low
On a flight from New Zealand to New York, Millie has a panic attack on board a plane. She desperately tries to open the door of the plane while flight attendants try to calm her down. Then she stands at the baggage carousel and collects the only suitcase that is making its circles there. She was on her way to an internship she had won at a renowned architecture firm in the USA. Now the problems begin, because at the counter there are only flights for well over $1,000, a sum she doesn’t have on hand and obviously doesn’t want to borrow from anyone else. Since she is obviously a bit embarrassed by the action afterwards, she starts a fictitious trip with the help of social networks, image search and photo composition, so that her friends think she is experiencing the adventure of a lifetime. Thus, the first picture with a view from the airplane above the clouds of Google ends up on Instagram.
First, she tries to contact her best friend Carolyn, to whom she had sold her car. There was no hurry to get the money, but now it’s on fire, but her friend has to tell her on the phone that she is currently broke. Her attempt to get a quick loan also fails, because a laptop is not accepted as collateral. Something like a car would be a different option, the man behind the counter tells her kindly. So Millie now has to get a car and it is obvious that it now goes to her friend. There is a big party going on, and to her advantage, it is dressed up in costumes. With a little creativity she gets access to the apartment and gets the car key. On her way back through the stairwell, she sees Carolyn talking about how Millie was just imitating her and that those in NewYork will surely catch on to her soon. Millie can’t let that sit on her shoulders. In the open, she pulls out her laptop in an alley, hangs a poster of NewYork’s subway lines on a brick wall, and begins a video call from her pretend apartment. Her friends celebrate her, but are also slightly puzzled as to how she could get there so quickly. When they ask Millie to show them more of her apartment, she disconnects the call. A few days later, her boyfriend reports a big surprise via video call. He has quit his studies and has already bought a plane ticket for the next day to New York. Of course, Millie didn’t expect this at all, and it completely upsets her previous plan.
Conclusion:
I was not very convinced by the film. It all seemed a bit too artificial and in some places much too exaggerated. The film never left me with the feeling that I now have to feel sorry for the protagonist, but that would have been important in such a plot. Millie never encounters really serious problems, everything flows smoothly across the screen. The only point of tension was reached when her boyfriend announces his plans.
Actors:
Ana Scotney (Millie)
Rachel House (Marlene)
Jillian Nguyen (Carolyn)
Chris Alosio (Henry)
Sam Cotton (Scott)
Director:
Michelle Savill
More about the movie:
https://www.berlinale.de/en/programme/programme/detail.html?film_id=202209041
