Hannah: A Model
From the Archives
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30-Nov-2018
Hannah is an Australian model living a perfect life in L.A., except when she chooses to be “bad”. In this parody profile, directed by Blair Beeken, we get a light-hearted jab at the ultra beautiful, healthy, and self-absorbed. Mollie Merkel writes and stars as the Instagram model with a penchant for landing in Urgent Care to get attention. Over glamorous shots of her frolicking on the beach, or swimming in her private pool (“It feels good to be alive. We’re so lucky”), we get to know her background and her modeling process — basically just watching “A Quiet Place” and thinking about the lines from John Krasinski’s character, “I love you. I’ve always loved you”. Gradually we start to see the cracks in the persona. She fights a lot with her second husband (who we never see), and the aforementioned trips to Urgent Care are set off by intentionally eating nuts she’s allergic to, addicted to the rush of almost dying and having people save her. The whole thing is deliciously absurd and pulled off with a joyfully ludicrous performance by Merkel. This is the first time we’ve featured Beeken as a director, but she also gives great comedic performances in previous NoBudge selections, “She Keeps Me Young,” and “Rodney,” both directed by Doron Max Hagay.
Written by and starring Mollie Merkel. Directed by Blair Beeken. Cinematography by Yoni Goldberg. Edited by Nick Ehart.
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