Running Time: 98 Minutes
Starring: Andrew Lee Potts, Beatrice Fletcher, Johnny Vivash, Amber Doig Thorne, Graham Skipper
A bloody shovel. Running water turning red as it moves down the sink. A primal scream of horror. For his feature debut, writer/director Damon Rickard crafts an attention-grabbing way to open Never Have I Ever. The story then focuses on Sam (Andrew Lee Potts), a screenwriter who is battling a dependency with alcohol. With his work for a writing job overdue, leaving Sam at risk to pay back an advance that he has already spent, it is safe to say that he is having a bad time.
Matters are complicated when his wallet and keys go missing, which is the beginning of strange incidents occurrences for the writer. Offering him a lifeline is Mara (Beatrice Fletcher), a grief counsellor that he has a chance encounter with at a pub. However, he could not envision the directions that would be taken as part of an escalating cat and mouse game.
What has been crafted is a story centred around a pair linked in ways initially unrevealed, each believing their actions are justified regardless of any moral quandaries. Potts terrifically breathes life into Sam, capturing how the self-absorbed writer finds duplicity easier than self-reflection, and mainly communicates with others for self-serving reasons. Fletcher is a revelation as Maya, conveying so much on her face as inner hurt and simmering anger bubbles away with seemingly no respite. Approaching her task with steely resolve, she wishes to correct an injustice through whatever means, believing that it would hurt her more to not try.
As the plot unfolds, an understand is given for the inciting incident which led to a devastating domino effect, as the multiple viewpoints offer a compelling unpacking of these characters. When this well-paced tale reaches the titular drinking game, it is compelling sequence which offers an eye-opening experience for the odious depths lurking beneath the surface. The cherry on top is Mitch Bain's tremendous score, delivering the goods throughout the runtime.
A tale of vengeance rooted in emotion, Never Have I Ever is a compelling work about the different ways grief affects people, be they in ways opportunistic or all-consuming.
Never Have I Ever made its World Premiere at Frightfest 2024
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