“Don’t expect too much from the end of the world”: TikTok stuck in traffic but going nowhere

A sardonic, black political comedy that comes out of nowhere, driven by witty takes on hot topics (Andrew Tate, Putin and Pornhub, to name a few) and a killer performance from Ilinca Manolache, without whom the film wouldn’t be possible. Manolache plays Angela, a vivacious Romanian looking to break into the gig economy as a filmmaker and TikTok sensation. Her main job is working as a production assistant for a company that produces security videos. On many film shoots, Angela trains accident victims, often in wheelchairs, to talk about the safety measures they should have taken to avoid injury and the employer’s blatant negligence in ensuring a safe workplace. They’re more CYAs than PSAs, and that’s the level of caustic humor imbued by writer-director Radu Jude (“Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn”).

When we meet Angela, she is completely naked; on her bedside table is Proust, a half-drunk beer and a glass of wine. From her no-holds-barred attitude as she slides out from under the covers at 5 a.m., we know she’s the kind of person who doesn’t look at anything. Dressed in a sequined dress, Angela makes her way through the day, which includes several safety shoots, and chats with director Uwe Boll about how he shuts down critics who take exception to his less-than-regarded films (“BloodRayne,” ” Alone in the Dark”). ), a quickie in her SUV, where nearly half the film takes place, and frequent TikTok appearances as her evil alter ego, a bald, bushy-haired incel named Bobiţă, who brags about sexual conquests and hangs out with Tate, everyone’s controversial supplier masculine and macho things.

Jude employs a unique stylistic palette to frame its modern absurdity; Much of Angela’s transport is shot in matte black and white (reminiscent of Pawel Pawlikowski’s wonderful Cold War), while her TikTok and security videos are shot in color. Jude also includes footage from the 1981 film “Angela Goes On,” about a taxi driver in communist Romania. The thematic juxtaposition (constant driving and difficulty getting from point A to point B) is about the bureaucratic nonsense with which the two Angelas are confronted and confused during the time of Ceaușescu’s police state and in the capitalist now.

Manolache, who feels like she could easily slip into an early Almodóvar or classic Fellini style, is in full force in the role of the foul-mouthed Angela, full of verve and palpable power and quite muscular and confident in the way she carries herself she defines her femininity and her place in society. Along with Mickey Madison’s bravura performance in Anora, this is the most eye-catching performance by an actress this year – Angela and Anora could easily team up and rule the world, and considering where they’re headed, that would likely be the case a good thing.

The final long shot, a PSA shot at the scene of the accident, is the darkest and darkest absurdity of the film, with telling references to Putin and Ukraine, American television and the underhanded use of Bob Dylan’s “Subterranean Homesick Blues.” Posters to further harass and subjugate the slandered.

On Mubi and Amazon Prime Video.

Cambridge writer Tom Meek’s reviews, essays, short stories, and articles have appeared in WBUR’s The ARTery, The Boston Phoenix, The Boston Globe, The Rumpus, The Charleston City Paper, and the literary magazine SLAB. Tom is also a member of the Boston Society of Film Critics and rides his bike everywhere.