Sissy | SXSW 2022 Film Review

Influencer: this has become a legitimate business venture for some. It seems everyone and their mother on YouTube and TikTok is sending you positive energy, good vibes, and encouragement to prioritize your mental health (finally!), and we have no qualms diving into that because it’s what we hoped our parents would tell us growing up, right? But we don’t even truly know the person behind the screen, only what they elect to show us, and who knows what skeletons lurk in their closet, waiting to come out. Hannah Barlow and Kane Senes’ horror film, Sissy, is an exploration into the vastly undiscovered paradigm of influencers and cancel culture. 

Cecilia is what you’d imagine in your mind (if your brain is a lucky one with that function) if I were to tell you about someone I saw on YouTube whose namaste vibes help me collect my self-esteem in a picnic basket and take me, myself, and I on a journey of self-love. She has 200,000 followers, practices meditation and self affirmation in her videos, reminding you – or maybe just herself – that “I am enough. I am loved. I am worthy”. What about when the camera’s off, though? Cecilia throws herself a solo underwear party on the couch, eating up all the likes and comments faster than that large pizza she’s indulging in. (You go, Queen. We respect it.) This is where the aforementioned exploration begins, by – hopefully – making the audience question what perfection really is, reminding us of the duality that exists in our idols, and how obsessed they are with their current state of fame.

Still, in the introduction of Cecilia, we get the impression that she is a genuinely nice person, just riddled with anxiety and the struggle of being an introvert. We see this deepened when Cecilia bumps into her childhood best friend, Emma (Hannah Barlow), at the store and does the infamous introverted tactic of attempting to evade the premises faster than you can say BYE FELICIA! As it always is, Emma notices Cecilia and her enthusiastic personality makes it hard for Cecilia to just walk away. Emma shares that she is now engaged and invites her former BFF to partake in bachelorette festivities over the weekend, unbeknownst to Cecilia, at a remote cabin hosted by the one person who tore their best friendship to pieces: Alex (Emily De Margheriti). Commence the shenanigans and probably the most deranged bachelorette weekend experience to ever exist!

There are a number of aspects to Sissy that I found myself fascinated with and hoorah-ing. The first being the unraveling obsession society has with being seen in a particular way and making sure that your reputation stays intact at almost any cost. Much of the story in Sissy relies on the notion that “I can’t let people see that I might not actually be this perfect, beautiful, and humble person I’ve led them to believe I am”. Any challenge to being seen differently that the persona you’ve built is a trigger for Cecilia, and I really liked that.

On a deeper level, Sissy touches on how cancel culture works now. I don’t really buy into “cancel culture” personally, as I feel like in most cases it’s just consequences, but there is something we, as a society, need to discuss: at what point do we not allow people forgiveness and the opportunity to change, if something is from a decade ago or two decades ago? What requirements, per se, need to be met in order for us to accept that they’ve changed who they are as a person and are trying to help others be better as well? Do we still hold their sins against them and say, “well you were a bully when you were in elementary school so you’re still a bully today”? Sissy is brilliant in the way it subtly tries to get that across to its audience, at least for your consideration. 

Do we have the opportunity for redemption, or does one mistake mean no matter how hard you try, you’re stuck being seen as an awful person? These questions paired with an authentically fun and humble performance from Aisha Dee and some wicked scenes made taking a lime scooter in 17 degrees Fahrenheit at SXSW in Austin, Texas to make this screening well worth it.

Follow our further discussion on this and over 25 other film and episodic premieres screened at SXSW 2022 via this episode of The Hollywood Outsider podcast: