Parallel Lines, review: are we masters of our destiny?

Parallel Lines, review

Life has always been a set of choices and consequences, inserted in the various and specific cultural contexts in which the human being lives. Obviously, each choice leads to a different path, to completely new developments within the infinite spectrum of possibilities that the future may or may not present. The human being has always tried to control, or at least to direct his life in one direction or another, and he does so through the central elements of a social system that wants to harness us following pre-established or completely new models, closed and at the same time open to new developments. Parallel Lines (Look Both Ways in the original language), the new Netflix film, out on August 17, directed by Weanuri Kahiu, based on a screenplay by April Prosser, starring Lili Reinhart (Riverdale), develops all its arguments starting from such a reflection, constructing a deconstructed and relatively interesting narrative. Choosing means opening new paths, but the beating heart of the film remains anchored to the human being himself and his strength and determination far beyond a simple Calvinist surrender.

Reflecting on the destiny of the individual is not something new within the history of cinema. We have already seen formal studies of this type (see for example Slinding Doors), which for better or for worse have tried to clarify the delicate elasticity with which life itself is woven, moment by moment. With this film we are faced with something familiar, at least at the beginning, and then take a completely personal turn, cloaking the individual moments through further reasoning connected to destiny and the false predestination that certain consumer cultures would like to offer us. All in favor of a very current self-determination and far from a simple formal experimentation.

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Parallel Lines, a title that speaks for itself

At the center of Parallel Lines we find Natalie (Lili Reinhart), a young graduate ready to realize her full potential. Her dream is to work in the world of animation, closely linked to an artistic dimension that has always been part of her daily life. In fact, drawing has the same weight for her as breathing has for all others. It is a characteristic of her attitude and her character, at the same time perfectly calibrated and rational towards what life has in store for her. After graduation, Natalie already sees herself in Los Angeles, looking for a job in the world that she has always attracted her to, so as to take advantage of both what she has learned over the years and to fulfill her usual dream. . - th_culturapop_d_mh2_1 slot id: th_culturapop_d_mh2 "); }
Nothing prevents Natalie from keeping her dream close to herself, nothing prevents her from continuing to believe in it, certainly her path, in both cases, will be studded with battles, even tough ones, in which she will have a great I weigh the support of the people you care about. In this we find the most interesting side of this film with light characteristics, in the same way in which it carries on two apparently poles apart narratives with a fundamental element in common: Natalie. She is the glue of the entire film, with a plot that puts her own life, divided into two possibilities, under the magnifying glass. How will she react? What will be the best story for her?

Parallel lines, wanting is power

The most interesting message underlying Parallel Lines is not linked to its formal structure or to the way it represents Natalie's existence. It is not a story linked to destiny and the simple consequences of what we choose to be and do every day of our existence. Rather than the will with which we shape our possibilities, or we could do it. In this lies the value of the film itself. Natalie has a dream and in a moment of relaxation her life changes completely overwhelming her.


Parallel lines If you hadn't chosen what you chose what would have happened? Would she have been a different girl? Would she have changed forever from the Natalie we know at the beginning of the film? There could be more answers to such questions, also because everything varies according to the character of the individual in question. The story of Natalie, however, aims to make everything clear as the sequences pass, up to its ending. Choosing to outline one's destiny in spite of everything, breaking down the problems of life (these could be sentimental, work, family ...) remains the beating heart of the whole story, with a protagonist who tries to find herself continuously.

A simple style

From a formal point of view we are dealing with an extremely simple film as a whole and well packaged. The camera focuses a lot on Natalie herself, on her broken or hopeful gaze, on the emotional details of her existence. This particular attention to the specific human returns in each sequence, without ever being too intrusive, coagulating with everything else in a formal coherence also close to the script itself. There is nothing new on the horizon as regards the structure of the film, despite all the generational efforts underlying the characterization of both the background characters and the general staging. The fact of building the whole narrative around Natalie works, even if a minimum deepening of the context around her, and of the other characters around her, would not have hurt.


Parallel lines The result is a film with familiar premises, ready to develop a double story that is also interesting and coherent from start to finish. Nothing too new but still well done in its entirety. The protagonist's free will soon shatters on that of her own spectators, constructing a discourse that never fully deepens, still managing to arouse something important, with an ending not to be underestimated at all.