‘Stress Positions’ Review: Noise Undercuts Nuance In Theda Hammel’s Neon Dramedy – Sundance Film Festival
Theda Hammel’s latest dramedy at Neon Stressed Positions stars Hammel, John Early, Qaher Harhash, Amy Zimmer, Faheem Ali, and Rebecca F. Wright follows Bahlul, a queer Moroccan-American model that everyone wants to meet. While moments emerge showing the glimmer of an insightful character study, the film quickly dissolves into an endurance test drowned out by superficial noise. One must tip the cap to Hammel’s sheer feat of micro-budget production, but his organic style choices bewilder more than enlighten.The film follows Bahlul (Harhash), a 20-year old Moroccan, American model, spending his time in recovery from a broken leg with his uncle Terry in Brooklyn, Ny. Terry is not Moroccan, but American and white and are family by marriage. The injured Bahlul meets a cast of eccentric characters, including Terry’s best friend Karla (Hammel), Carla‘s girlfriend, Vanessa (Zimmer), Terry’s husband Leo (Roberts), Ronald (Ali), the local GrubHub delivery guy, and Coco (Wright), the woman living in the apartment above them.