“The Model” takes its classic melodramatic premise and almost goes out of its way to cram it full of stale tropes while making sure that nothing original or unique is said. This is so much the case that the film would have been rejected as a possible Lifetime Channel original movie for being too clichéd and predictable. What we get is yet another borderline after school special cautionary tale about an innocent little girl from a small town going to the big city in order to follow her dreams to become a star, only to end up being swallowed by the overwhelming coldness and nastiness of her new existence, full of back stabbings, bad relationships, casual sex, drugs, etc… That darn jazz and liquor, it sullies the good name of all decent, god-fearing gals.
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Of course, just the fact that a movie proposes an overused premise doesn’t mean it’s automatically going to be without any originality or merit. After all, “It’s not what it’s about, it’s how it’s about it”, to quote the great Roger Ebert. Michael Powell’s ballet masterpiece “The Red Shoes” followed this formula to a tee while creating a wondrously imaginative and inventive experience. For a more recent example, look no further than Darren Aranofsky’s “Black Swan,” which turned a similar premise into a wicked mix of “Repulsion” and “Perfect Blue.” Even this year’s “Neon Demon,” still unseen by me, seems to have provided an original approach to this story, despite the bad reviews it garnered.
Yet for some reason, the three credited screenwriters for “The Model” decided to go with such a dull and uncreative paint-by-numbers approach to this plot, that if you’ve seen even a couple of similar films, it wouldn’t be hard to predict, beat-by-beat, the entire story from the first couple of minutes on. Was this movie made for the insanely small demographic of people who have never seen a film or a TV show? On top of the uninspired screenwriting, the flat and lifeless acting and directing turns “The Model” into a chore to sit through, even for those who might be into the Paris fashion industry.
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Our innocent dreamer ready to take on the big city this time around is Emma (Maria Palm), who leaves her boring small town in Denmark in order to make it as a supermodel in Paris. Will she be initially overwhelmed by the indifference and rudeness of this world, only to be swept up in its razzle-dazzle once she hooks up with a hunky photographer (Ed Skrein)? Will she become morally conflicted and emotionally drained as she comes face to face with the hedonism and selfishness of her stardom? Will she eventually crash thanks to drugs and bad relationships, leading her to think that her meager existence back home might not have been so terrible after all?
If you’re willing to bet against any of these developments when it comes to such an unimaginative project, then I have a bridge I’d like to sell you. The fact that co-writer/director Mads Matthiesen stick copious amounts of gratuitous t&a and sex in order to artificially inject such an overwrought and vanilla story with some edge only makes the whole endeavor feel more desperate.
The protagonist unfortunately brings together the fatal combination of depthless writing and a lifeless performance. The first act of the screenplay doesn’t give us anything concerning why Emma craves to be a model in such a competitive setting in the first place, which might have been fine if Maria Palm, a model who perhaps should go back to her day job, gave us any indication that the character has a pulse. Forget about making Emma look driven or passionate, Palm makes her look visibly disinterested in the career that’s supposed to be her ultimate dream. Even during moments where the character’s supposed to be happy or excited, Palm looks like she’s seconds away from passing out due to a profound indifference about any of the hacky melodramatic story developments that are popping up around her.
Even though his supposed star-making turn in “The Transporter Refueled” didn’t pan out due to the film’s failure at the box-office, Ed Skrein is still on his way to becoming a household name thanks to his enjoyable turn as the villain in the smash hit “Deadpool.” I bet he’d like to remove this lackluster character and performance as a maudlin representation of fashion world debauchery from his resume while he advances his career.
I would have never thought that Paris could be made to look flat and lifeless, but the uninspired digital cinematography of “The Model” turns out to be up to the task. The cold and downright monochromatic (from light blue, all the way to slightly light blue) color scheme might have meant to visually support the supposed apathy that surrounds Emma, but the lack of a unique take on this premise with at least a little bit of a bite turns this already characterless visual style into a dull grind.
Even as a late night Netflix viewing for fashion aficionados who enjoy a scandalous bit of melodramatic trash, “The Model” doesn’t offer anything new, interesting, or engaging. As a Theatrical or VOD release, it barely registers as an entity. [D-]
