The lives people live are experienced in chapters. Each chapter depicting a moment in life filled with characters that are constantly coming and going. Not every character, however, is well meaning. Some are more self serving. Doron Max Hagay’s feature length adaptation of his short film of the same name, ‘She Keeps Me Young’ takes a darkly humorous look at the relationships and characters serve a more toxic purpose. Debuting at Tribeca Film Festival in New York, ‘She Keeps Me Young’ will make the audience take a look at their own relationships and who they allow control in their lives.
Michelle and Kelly have been friends for years. Having lost her partner when he goes missing, Michelle has been struggling, relying on her longtime friendship with Kelly to serve as an outlet. An outlet that Kelly takes advantage of after struggling with her own shortcomings. When Michelle strikes up a relationship with a high school senior, Kelly becomes jealous and the friendship begins to fracture. ‘She Keeps Me Young’ is riotously funny. Hagay has delivered one of the most darkly human films in recent history.
Best Friends Forever
‘She Keeps Me Young’ dates all the way back to 2016 when Hagay and actor/partners Blair Beeken and Katy Fullan first began their work with Michelle and Kelly. That decade of work has lead to a cast chemistry that would rival any contemporary film. The drama feels real. The comedic scenarios feel authentic. The films ability to achieve that level of authenticity boils down to the work that the films leads and director have developed over years.
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Blair Beeken’s portrayal of Michelle gave me anxiety. Even when Michelle wants to stand up to Kelly, she can’t. Michelle would back down and, ultimately, give in to Kelly. Beeken is calculated in her portrayal of Michelle, portraying her nervous nature with pinpoint accuracy. When Michelle is exploring being unapologetically herself, Beeken builds that confidence within Michelle. As Michelle became more free, so did Beeken. Her performance is one of the most memorable of the year thus far.
To her credit, Katy Fullan matches Beeken’s Michelle with her maddening portrayal of Kelly. Kelly drove me crazy. It was so blatant who she really was and what she was really about that I couldn’t figure out why Michelle let her treat her the way she did. There in lies the beauty of the chemistry that exists between Beeken and Fullan. It was maddening because it felt authentic. Fullan is overbearing and over the top, suiting the character of Kelly perfectly. Trust, I will be talking about Kelly for quite some time and that is all due to Fullan’s performance.
Been At It For Years
The development of these characters in particular over the time that they’ve been developed has delivered a very rich, layered story. The story is about more than one thing in particular but serves to show the amount of nuance a film can use without diluting the overarching story of the film. Hagay has chiseled his story and these characters so effectively with Beeken and Fullan that ‘She Keeps Me Young’ reaches at the core of each audience member through it’s ability to relate to the human condition.
People are relient on other people for some form of emotional attachment. That need tends to vary from person to person, but is still an average part of being alive. Many, however, find themselves stuck in repetitive destructive relationships that exist more out of convenience than for any kind of emotional need. ‘She Keeps Me Young’ gets at that to such an effective degree that it will have audiences literally going through their cell phones and reflecting on their relationships.
Final Thoughts:
‘She Keeps Me Young’ is a darkly humorous look at the toxic relationships that are scattered acros the pages of the chapters of people’s lives. Audiences will not only be able to connect with the film on a personal level, they’ll be able to laugh at their own relationships and mistakes. Doron Max Hagay has delivered a truly must see film in ‘She Keeps Me Young.’
