Mimi Cave’s debut film FRESH shows the jaded Noa (Daisy Edgar-Jones) scrolling through an endless sea of faces on dating apps and sitting through a mind-numbing first date, but just when all hope seems lost, she meets the awkward but charming Steve (Sebastian Stan) in a grocery store.

Noa sets off on this journey with an attitude of reckless abandon, already framing her as being woefully naive – she wants to fall in love, but dismisses the existence of true love to avoid being disappointed. Edgar-Jones is magnetic to watch on screen, exuding such strength and resilience, not just flipping this script, but ripping it up completely. Opposite Edgar-Jones, Stan walks around with eyes void of emotion and a sinister smile, but balances this with a certain likeability. Even though we can see that there’s something off with him from the start, we want to like him too. 

Noa’s best friend, Mollie (Jojo T. Gibbs) warns her about Steve’s apparent red flags, and there are these literal red flags placed everywhere; she wears red clothes and there’s an excessive placement of red furniture littered throughout each room. These visual choices make it seem as if she’s being mocked, about to be used as an example to tell a cautionary tale of what women shouldn’t do. But it ends up being quite the opposite; rightfully concluding that she’s a victim who isn’t responsible for his wrongdoings.

As this story unfolds, taking us down a road of unexpected twists and turns, the film drives home one very important point: it’s never the woman’s fault. FRESH is a commentary on modern dating that’s meant to be an exaggeration, yet feels too familiar in many ways, making the ending all the more cathartic.

RATING: 4/5

INFORMATION

CAST: Daisy Edgar-Jones, Sebastian Stan, Jojo T. Gibbs, Charlotte Le Bon, Andrea Bang, Dayo Okeniyi

DIRECTOR: Mimi Cave

WRITER: Lauryn Kahn

SYNOPSIS: Frustrated by dating apps, Noa takes a chance by giving her number to the awkwardly charming Steve.

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